She Paints Me Blue
by ToBecomeAClown
Summary: AU. Haley James and Nathan Scott were best friends until Nathan had to move under circumstances that were never told to Haley. What happens five years later when Haley needs her former friend and he isn't who he used to be? Naley.
1. Dare You to Move

**A/N: Yes! My First OTH story! I am super excited to start it. I have how many chapters planned out and a few already written. I would love any kind of feedback; tell me if you love it, hate it, think I should continue or stop. Whatever it is, I want to hear it please and thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Je n'ai rien. English translation: I own nothing. **

Chapter Title: Dare You to Move

_Welcome to the fallout  
>Welcome to resistance<br>The tension is here  
>Tension is here<br>Between who you are and who you could be  
>Between how it is and how it should be<em>

_Dare You to Move- Switchfoot_

The cold air felt good against her skin. It was the end of summer and she was happy for the breeze. She's always preferred the cold, yet she's never experienced it; California was always hot.

Haley looked around and took in her surroundings. The river was beautiful and almost made her feel like home. She loved any body of water and severely missed the Pacific Ocean, but she figured the Atlantic would have to do.

She smiled as she turned back around from her seat at a bench and looked at the old, worn-out basketball court behind her. It was definitely used, but she wouldn't describe it as ratty. It didn't seem that way to her; it was just loved.

She'd only gotten here today and didn't know much about Tree Hill; her new home. All she knew was that it was where her best friend mysteriously moved to years ago and where she had chosen for her parents to ship her off to.

The blonde girl sighed then. She came here to see her best friend and take back their relationship. She looked down at the paper in her hand. She had it right there. His address, his phone number, but she didn't know what to do. She knew she was coming to Tree Hill with the intention of getting Nathan back, yet she never considered how she would do it. She couldn't imagine walking up to this strange house, knocking on the door and seeing the boy she loved like a brother that she hadn't seen in five years.

"You know, generally, you watch people play the game, not just the baskets." A voice interrupted her thoughts. He was probably referring to the fact that she was staring at the vacant basketball court throughout her thoughts. She looked up and was met with a blonde boy who didn't look rude or threatening, just friendly. She smiled at his comment.

"You play?" He asked her when she didn't respond. He made his way onto the court and shot a basket with the ball he brought with him.

"Not so much." She said, nonchalantly. She didn't want to laugh out loud at the thought of herself playing basketball. She didn't need the first thing this boy knew about her to be her lack of athletic ability.

He smiled at her and shot the ball again. "I've never seen you around before."

"That would make sense. I've only been here for about a half an hour." She smiled, than gestured to her car parked on the side of the court, "Still full of all my things. I haven't even made my way to my new apartment yet."

"Just moved here, huh? Where'd you come from?"

"California. Lived there my entire life."

"Wow. That's a big change, huh?"

"Yeah," Haley shrugged, "Sometimes change is good."

He only smiled and then took a seat next to her on the bench and stuck out his hand.

"Lucas."

"Haley." She smiled and shook his hand.

"It was nice meeting you, but I should probably get going, I have a lot of unpacking to do. I start school tomorrow." She stated, saying the last part in sarcastic enthusiasm.

"Oh yeah? Are you going to Tree Hill?"

"Yup. Big junior year ahead of me."

"Really? Me too. I guess I'll be seeing you in school then."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled and made her way over to her car, hopping in and heading over to her new apartment.

++++++++++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She didn't know why she was so nervous; lunch was never a difficult subject. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was the new girl who has been receiving nasty looks from cheerleaders all day or if it was because she had yet to see Nathan and she knew she probably would see him now, but either way, she was nearly shaking. She took a deep breath before heading out to the quad with her lunch tray.

She looked around. Haley didn't know if she was looking specifically for Nathan or not, but she found him. She froze the second she saw him. She knew he'd look different and would've matured since his pre-pubescent eleven year old self, but she never expected this. His hair was darker and shorter and clearly he was taller, but she didn't expect his muscular arms to practically be bulging through his shirt. Haley knew he played basketball, but she never expected him to be so… fit.

She, surprisingly, found comfort in his eyes. Not many people did. They were icy and cold, yet Haley had always seen through it, and she still did today. His eyes hadn't changed one bit and she felt it relieving, yet upsetting at the same time. It meant that he was still suffering and that he still hadn't let anyone, besides her, in. He still held his front.

Without realizing what she was doing, her body was bringing her over to his table, closer to the boy who she once didn't go a day of her life without seeing. God, she missed him.

"Nathan." She sighed out, barley able to speak, with tears coming to eyes. She couldn't believe this was really happening.

"Uhh, hi." He replied, confusedly. He took time to check her out and smirked, before looking back up to meet the girl's eyes. Damn, she looked intense.

"Hi." He repeated, yet this time confidently and with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Ew." Haley heard a girl with bright red hair at Nathan's table say. She then took the time to look around the rest of his table; she hadn't realized how full it was of good looking guys and pretty girls in cheerleading uniforms. She started to panic; she was way out of her league here. Yet, she decided to ignore it. Her best friend was worth the humiliation.

"Nathan." She insisted, just realizing that he doesn't yet know who she is. She decided she'd give him a minute; he wasn't expecting her and it had been five years.

"Are you okay?" A curly blonde girl asked from the table. Her voice wasn't rude like the other girls, she seemed to genuinely care.

Haley continued to ignore the rest of the table and continued to stare at Nathan. She'd given him a moment; when was he going to realize who she was?

"You- you don't remember me?" She asked with a mixture of desperation and shock in her voice.

The red haired girl snickered loudly and a few guys at the table tried to hide their laughter, the rest just watched the scene go down with pity. This wouldn't be the first time Nathan slept with some random, innocent chick that he didn't remember in a drunken haze.

"Why would he remember you? I mean, in order for him to sleep with someone like you he had to be pretty damn drunk."

"I think she's hot." A shaggy haired boy spoke up from the table. Usually, Haley would have been embarrassed by such a comment but right now she was grateful for it.

Haley was also grateful that she chose to wear shorts today. Her legs are her favorite feature and knowing that she did in fact look good today gave her a little self-confidence. A little.

"Shut up, Tim." The red head retorted, turning back to face Haley. "Oh, you're still here? You're starting to look a little desperate. He doesn't remember you, get over it and get away from this table."

"I remember you." Nathan finally spoke up. Haley beamed. She knew her friend couldn't have forgotten her.

"You do?" The red head asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I must've slept with her. I remember that scar." He said as he pointed to a two inch scar above her knee.

"You should." Haley stated bitterly, realizing that he didn't in fact know who she was.

_Flashback_

"I hate you." A ten year old Haley told her best friend for the fifth time in a row. The boy only laughed in return and reached his hand out to help her get onto the same branch of the tall tree that he was on. She accepted quickly, glad to have the support. She hated heights.

"You hate me now?" Nathan asked as he pulled off his backpack, reached in, and pulled out a peanut butter and banana sandwich; Haley's favorite.

"Yes, but maybe not as much." She stated, greedily grabbing her half of the sandwich and shoving it into her mouth.

Nathan laughed as he watched his friend down the sandwich he made in four bites.

"What are you looking at?" Haley asked, her voice muffled by the sticky peanut butter. She grabbed Nathan's water bottle out of his hand and took a sip when he just continued to laugh.

"Stop laughing at me!" She scolded, hitting her friend's shoulder in disapproval.

"Hey!" He yelled back at her, rubbing his shoulder.

"Well you shouldn't have laughed at me." She says with a proud smile on her face, pushing him on his shoulder again.

"Stop hitting me!" He demanded, jokingly while pushing her shoulder in revenge.

The next moment was a blur as Haley was thrown back by the slight shove and lost her grip on the branch. She hit the ground hard and in a second Nathan was down next to her, panicking. Along with a broken wrist, Haley received a deep red scar from the rock that split the skin above her knee open.

_End Flashback_

Tears were threatening to pour out of her eyes, she was so humiliated and horrified and just upset. What the hell had five years done to this boy who she remembered as timid and sweet? She needed to get herself out of this situation before she did begin to sob. It was obvious that she had already made an enemy and she didn't need to start breaking down in front of her.

"Hey." Haley turned around when she heard a boy with brown hair and brown eyes talking to her. She felt uncomfortable, seeing as how she was still standing in front of the table where Nathan and his friends sat with their eyes on Haley and the boy who was now talking to her.

"You want to sit with me? My friend can't sit with me today and I don't want to eat alone." The boy asked her, smiling. He looked friendly and she was grateful for the escape. She could only nod, not wanting to trust her voice as she left the table where Nathan was and followed the boy, not daring to look back.

"Uh, here looks like a good spot." The boy said, picking a small table in the corner and sitting down.

"I'm Jake." He stated, holding out his hand.

Haley smiled weakly, still shaken up a bit from the encounter with Nathan, before responding "Haley."

"It's nice to meet you Haley."

She smiled in return and began eating her lunch.

"I'm sorry about whatever Nathan or Rachel or whoever, said to you. Nathan's a jackass and Rachel isn't any better."

"Are they dating?"

"No. She wishes. Nathan Scott doesn't date; he's too cool for that. He does sleep with a new girl every week-end though."

"Why is he such an asshole?"

"Because he can be. Star of the basketball team. He gets whatever he wants. And he's certainly not part of the welcoming committee, so don't take anything personally." Jake said, still worried about the girl. He didn't want her to feel bad.

"And you are?"

"No, just nice."

"Oh, so what is this, a charity case?"

"No, of course not. You just don't need their shit and I wanted to help you get out. Plus, you seem pretty cool and I only affiliate myself with really cool people."

She smiled genuinely at him. Besides the whole best friend not remembering her thing, Tree Hill isn't that bad.

"Tomorrow, that is if you want to sit with me tomorrow, my friend will sit with us too. He's really nice, his name's Lucas Sc-"

"Lucas?" Haley interrupted, "With blonde hair, blue eyes, plays basketball?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Kind of. I met him yesterday at an old basketball court by the river."

"The River Court." He informed her, "Yeah, if it's not school hours that is pretty much where you will find him."

"Good to know." She smiled and continued to get to know Jake. She felt that once she got over the whole Nathan thing, it was going to be a good year.

+++++++++++ _She Paints Me Blue_ ++++++++++++

"Who the hell does that bitch think she is?"

"Damn, Rach, calm down. What the hell is your problem with her?" Brooke asked, annoyed at the fellow cheerleader.

"I'm pretty sure I made that clear. Who is she to come over like that?" A clearly annoyed Rachel asked the people at her table.

"Do you really remember her, Nate?" Peyton asked, ignoring the bitchy cheerleader who, unfortunately, sat at the table with her.

"Not really. I mean, like I said, I remember the scar. Not sleeping with her though." Nathan answered, zoning out onto the girl who he had just had an encounter with. He felt a weird vibe when she came, like they had some sort of connection that he hasn't felt with anyone else before. It was a strange and foreign feeling to him and he didn't know how to take it. "But I wish I did."

**A/N: And chapter one is finished! I know that it's not the best chapter, but it's just the first one so I had to just get the story started and establish past and present relationships and such. Please review and, like I said, chapter 2 is done, so if I get positive feedback, watch out for that soon! Thank you!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	2. Casting Lines

**A/N:****Thank ****you ****for ****all ****of ****the ****feedback, ****I ****really ****appreciate ****it !****And ****with ****that ****said,****here****'****s ****number ****two.**

**Also, ****I ****just ****want ****to ****talk ****about ****my ****updating ****schedule, ****or ****the ****lack ****thereof. ****I ****don****'****t ****have ****certain ****days ****that ****I ****will ****be ****able ****to ****update ****and ****such. ****I ****am ****really ****interested ****in ****writing ****this, ****but ****it ****is ****not ****practical ****for ****me ****to ****say ****that ****I ****can ****write ****and ****have ****chapters ****finished ****by ****certain ****days ****because ****of ****school ****and ****other ****commitments, ****but ****I ****do ****hope ****to ****update ****at ****least ****once ****a ****week, ****most ****likely ****on ****weekends ****because ****I ****do ****not ****always ****have ****that ****much ****work.**

**Disclaimer:****I ****don****'****t ****speak ****any ****other ****language ****besides ****English ****and****(a ****little ****bit ****of)****French, ****so ****I ****don****'****t ****own ****anything.**

Chapter Title: Casting Lines

_And who are we to argue fate?_

_And who is time to make us wait?_

_I'm standing here with nothing left to prove._

_Casting Lines—Jack's Mannequin_

_Flashback_

"That guy looks like a jerk. He reminds me of my big brother." A Four year old Haley informed the young, sad boy who sat on the bench in front of her. She just watched the older man scold the boy and walk away, muttering under his breath, "Who is he?"

"My dad." The boy answers uncertainly. He's never been one for making friends.

"Well, is he a jerk?"

"Sometimes." The boy replied sadly.

"What's your name? I'm Haley. I don't think it's good that your dad's a jerk. My dad is really nice to me, all the time. Well, he yells at me when I do bad things, but I don't really do bad things. He usually just yells at Brandon because he's really mean to me. Like I said, my big brother's a jerk. Do you have any brothers or sisters? What's your name, again?" Haley asked, finally taking a moment to let the boy respond.

"Nathan." He answered, timidly, still unsure about the girl rambling to him.

"Nice name," She stated happily, "You want to come play on the swings with me? Vivian just taught me how to pump my legs last Saturday. Do you know how to pump your legs? I'll teach you if you don't. Come on." She demanded, grabbing Nathan's hand and pulling him towards the swings, just like she did again at school each day after that.

_End Flashback_

Haley was thankful that she had already found out about the school tutoring center. She only saw Nathan during lunch and even though it meant she wouldn't be able to sit with her new friends, it meant that she would be able to avoid any potential run-ins with Nathan. Although, she ultimately knew it was inevitable. Again, the only reason she was here was because she needed Nathan; she needed to be happy again and avoiding him like the plague was not going to benefit her.

She just didn't know what to say or how to approach him. Every time she was in her empty apartment, alone, she would think about all the ways that this could play out;

"Oh, hey Nate. Yeah, it's me, Haley James, you know, the girl who used to be your best friend? Yeah, it's totally cool that you don't even seem to remember the first years of your life and me included but I just have some really big issues that I need to work out and I know that you're the only one that can help me so…"

The rest of her thoughts ran off when a knock at the door startled her. Nathan Scott. Of course.

"Can I help you?" Haley asked after taking a moment to collect herself. She refused to let herself appear helpless and desperate like yesterday and decided to go along it. Maybe if she acted like everything was cool he would leave her alone.

"Uh, I was just hoping I could talk to you."

He seemed nervous and rather fidgety. One hand was rubbing the back of his neck as he stood in the doorway of the empty tutoring center, awaiting a response.

"Okay…" Haley hesitated, but gestured to the chair next to her anyway.

Her heart was beating loud in her chest and she was nervous being around him. She didn't know how to act or what to do. Of course she wanted him to remember her, but she didn't know what she would do if he did.

Nathan slowly walked over to the chair the Haley gestured to and sat down cautiously. He could tell that this was awkward for her and he honestly didn't feel that much more comfortable himself.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. And Rachel, she can be a real bitch sometimes."

"So I've heard."

"Yeah." He paused, looking about the tutoring center and taking in his surroundings. He's never been in here before and he was also very intent on avoiding eye contact with the girl in front of him. He found a weird sense of comfort and familiarity in the girl's eyes and it scared him shitless. "But I really am sorry about what happened. And, you know, me not remem-"

"It's fine," Haley cut in, smiling weakly, trying to get away from where this conversation was going. She did not want to be reminded about what had happened at their last encounter, "Just forget about it." She nodded her head as she spoke, hoping to give reassurance to Nathan that she forgave him.

"Okay."

An awkward silence fell upon the two and as much as Haley wanted to say something to him, wanted to ask him a question that would prompt him to think about his past and maybe get something to click in his head, she couldn't. She didn't want to push him to remember.

"Is, uh, is that it? Because, I have some work to do…" Haley trailed off, avoiding his eyes because that's what she did when she was lying.

"On the second day of school?" He asked suspiciously, with an eyebrow raised.

Haley only shrugged in response; she didn't feel that she owed him an explanation.

Feeling that he was no longer wanted he stood up and pushed in his chair, walking to the door. Before he exited, he turned back around and walked to the table he was just seated at and extended a hand to the girl who still resided there.

"I'm Nathan Scott." She smiled weakly and shook the hand that was offered to her.

"And you are?" Nathan prompted when she didn't introduce herself.

Haley was sure her face dropped for a moment, but if it visibly did, Nathan didn't seem to notice. She couldn't tell him her name; of course he'd know her by name. She was afraid that even 'Haley' would make his head begin to spin.

"Don't worry about it." She smiled, coyly, because being flirty was the only technique she knew would get her out of answering his question.

He seemed taken aback momentarily before smirking at her in response and laughing slightly.

"Alright," He began walking back to the door, "See you around, no name."

He sent her a smirk again before leaving.

++++++++++++++_She__Paints__Me__Blue_++++++++++

"Where have you been?" Rachel spit out when Nathan reached the lunch table he has the routine of sitting at every day. And you don't break that routine. It's like the code of high school.

"I went to talk to that girl from yesterday." Nathan informed the table, smiling as he sat down.

"You did what?"

"I talked to the girl from yesterday." He repeated, more slowly, rolling his eyes at Rachel. The girl seriously annoyed him.

"Good for you, Nate." Peyton stated whole-heartedly. She appreciated the fact that the arrogant boy was making an effort to make the girl he embarrassed yesterday feel better. It was showing her the good side of Nathan that she was there.

"No, not good for him. She's going to think she can start talking to us now. Dammit, Nathan." Rachel scolded. She hated this girl with a passion.

"Would you get over yourself?" Brooke finally spoke up. She was never one to help out other people, but she knew Rachel was way out of line.

"What is up with all of you? Why are you totally cool with a low-life, loser trying to hang out with us?"

Rachel didn't even wait for a response from the clueless people at her table before standing up and storming into the school. This girl needed to know her place.

It wasn't long before Rachel found Haley in the tutoring center. It was lunch and if she wasn't outside, the tutoring center was one of the few places she could be.

She didn't even bother knocking before storming in and sitting down across from Haley who was so into the book that she was reading, that she wouldn't have even knew the red head was there if it weren't for her loud stilettos clanking against the hard, tile floor.

"Can I help you?" Haley repeated the same question she asked Nathan not the long before. Only, this time, her voice wasn't full of alarm and nervousness, only agitation.

"Yes. Stay the hell away from Nathan."

Haley laughed loudly while taking her time to put the bookmark in her book and set it down before looking up at Rachel.

"Why?"

Rachel was taken aback slightly, "What?"

"Why? Do you have a rational reason or are you just being a bitch?"

"He's too cool for you."

Haley laughed again. High school was ridiculous. This girl was seriously the definition of "cool"?

"So it's the latter then." Haley established, then continued to look like she was pondering her choices before coming to a conclusion, "I don't think so, but thanks for the suggestion. It's appreciated." She smiled, before reaching down to pick her book back up. She already wasted enough of her time with this girl.

"Why do you even care? I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Nathan doesn't date, it doesn't matter if you guys had a drunken one night stand, it's done. Move on."

"Is that why you're so desperate for him to date you then? Because you're over your one night stand with him?" Haley asked, accusingly.

Rachel looked nervous for a moment before mumbling out a, "I'm not desperate". Then it clicked.

"Oh, he won't even touch you." Haley smiled, happy that she was able to have something over this girl, even if she really technically didn't.

"Shut up, bitch." Rachel said out of clenched teeth, before running out the room. She was done being pissed off by people today.

+++++++++++ _She__Paints__Me__Blue_ +++++++++

"I thought it was Lucas that I could find here whenever I wanted." Haley said to Jake as she approached the River Court where Lucas was playing basketball and Jake was sitting at a table with a baby.

"Yeah, well, that's because I didn't want you to come looking for me." He joked back and smiled at her.

"Aww, who is she?" Haley asked reaching out the baby she just now noticed in the boy's arms. She took a hold of the baby when Jake let go and started playing with her. "She is so cute, I love babies!"

Jake laughed at his new friend's enthusiasm before answering, "She's my daughter, Jenny."

"Aww, she's adorable, Jake." Haley smiled and continued to play with the baby.

The boys at the River Court shared a look. Lucas already knew how much Jake appreciated her response. He didn't think that Haley would judge him, she didn't seem like that kind of person, but he figured she would at least be hesitant at first. But she wasn't.

Jake looked down at his smiling daughter and back at Haley. "She likes you."

Haley smiled but didn't say anything. She was too interested in the baby.

"Go, play basketball with Luke. I got her." Haley said after a moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I'm sure she enjoys my company more, anyway."

**A/N: And there's chapter two!**

**I just need to take a minute to express my love for everyone. I seriously had low expectations, but your feedback seriously blew me away. I would get giddy and text my increasingly agitated sister every time I got a review. I super appreciate it!**

**Also, ****I****know, ****still ****not ****one ****of ****the ****best ****chapters ****and ****it****'****s ****shorter, ****but ****the ****next ****one ****is ****going ****to ****be ****better; ****I****'****m ****really ****excited ****for ****it. ****And, ****I ****will ****caps ****this ****because ****I ****know ****more ****than ****half ****of ****the ****readers ****are ****going to ****have ****given ****up ****on ****this ****author****'****s ****note ****by ****now, ****IF ****YOU ****REVIEW ****THIS ****CHAPTER ****I ****WILL ****PM ****YOU ****A ****PREVIEW ****OF ****CHAPTER ****3! ****I ****don****'****t ****know ****if ****this ****will ****be ****a ****recurring ****thing, ****but ****for ****this ****chapter ****definitely, ****so ****click ****that ****review ****button!**

**Thank you all very much!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	3. What Have You Been Doing Lately?

**A/N: Chapter trois (see, my French again). Thank you for all the lovely reviews from last chapter, it is greatly appreciated! **

**Disclaimer: Only chapter three and I have already run out of creative ways to tell everyone that I don't own anything. This is going to be a long story…**

_What have you been doing lately?  
>Your life could use improving greatly.<br>I just wanted to know what's going on, but everything that goes is going wrong._

_What Have You Been Doing Lately?—Relient K_

"You play basketball?"

Haley sighed. Before she even looked, she knew who the voice belonged to.

"It's a pretty place." She answered, shortly, not wanting to speak to Nathan right now. She managed to avoid him all day at school and now she just wanted a relaxing weekend without thoughts of him. She figured it would be hard to do that if she spoke to him.

"Yeah, it is." He agreed, walking to sit next to her on the bench, "But that's not what I asked. Do you play?"

"No."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

She didn't answer him, just looked at him questioningly.

"I'm going to go now." She finally stated, standing to collect her things.

"No, don't," He grabbed her arm and stopped her movements, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."

Haley sat down hesitantly. His voice sounded weak and desperate. Like the boy who was her best friend's voice.

"Are you okay?" She asked carefully, not wanting to push him, which is something she learned not to do a long time ago.

He looked at her sadly and shook his head, then looked ahead of them at the river.

"It is a pretty place."

She smiled with concern and placed her hand on his back, startling them both. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nathan sighed and continued to look ahead of him before speaking up.

"I know he's pretty infamous around here but you haven't been here that long so you probably don't know about my dad."

Haley didn't respond; she didn't want to lie to him.

"He's an asshole. The only thing that's important in his life is basketball." He pauses and runs a hand over his face, "He's constantly pressuring me and my brother and sometimes it's just too much. I know I shouldn't let him get to me, but he does."

Brother?

When did that happen? But of course, she couldn't ask.

Haley pushed aside her curiosity over the newfound family member and nodded sympathetically at the boy in front of her. Of course, she already knew all of this, but it still hurt her.

He laughed bitterly before turning to her, "I'm sorry. I don't even know why I told you this. I don't tell anyone about my problems. I don't get why I want to open up to you."

Haley's heart was pounding in her chest.

Nathan's heart was pounding in his chest.

Their moment was broken at the ring of his cell phone. She watched Nathan put fake enthusiasm in his voice as he spoke to the person on the other end.

As he pressed the end button on the phone, he looked at the girl beside him who just looked lost. He felt bad for everything he did to her; sleep with her, forget her, humiliate her, open up to her, push her away. He knew he was messing with this girl but he just couldn't bring himself to stop.

"I gotta go." He started, seeming to interrupt her thoughts. "Thank you for listening to me ramble." He mumbled and got up and started to back away, waving awkwardly; both saying goodbye through fake smiles.

_Flashback_

"Haley, please open the door!" He almost yelled, pounding his fist against the hard wood.

A moment later, an eleven year old Haley appeared at the door, looking equal parts tired and confused.

"What is going on, Nathan? It better be good for two in the morning."

She closed the door after he walked in and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Then was the first time that she saw the tears on his face. She immediately grew concerned and pushed him down onto the couch, gathering him into her arms.

"What's wrong, Nathan?" She asked, almost in tears herself. She couldn't stand it when her best friend was hurt.

"Dan."

Haley understood. Dan was the cause of all of Nathan's problems. That, and his practically MIA mom. She felt bad for Nathan; she was the only person he had.

"What happened?"

"He hit me."

Haley gasped. She's known that Dan was cruel and terrible to Nathan but she never thought that it would have gone this far.

"I don't even know what I did, Haley. I was sleeping in my bed and the next thing I know he's storming in and punching me."

When he began to sob harder, Haley held him tighter.

"And Mom isn't even home and I just didn't know where else to go."

"You can always come here, Nathan."

"I know."

_End Flashback_

Haley regretted it the second she walked into the small, homey café that Lucas said his mother had used to own.

It appears that Deb Scott has taken over. She was never fond of the woman who seemed to have abandoned her son the first miserable eleven years of his life but that was not her issue right now.

Haley spent more time with Nathan than her own family when they were kids, meaning she was practically Deb's daughter too. She would have to recognize her; mother's tuition or something. Right?

Correct.

"Haley!" She heard Deb say her name in surprise and shock.

Haley offered a weak smile and walked over to the woman who was approaching her with her arms wide open.

Haley reciprocated the hug and sat on a stool at the counter after she pulled back, while Deb made her way back to the other side of the counter.

"I can't believe this. I, I don't know what to say. How've you been Haley? Oh, you look so beautiful; I love the blonde hair."

"Thanks. Everything's been good." She lied, interrupting Deb before she could throw any more questions at her.

"That's great." Deb smiled, "How have your siblings been? Your parents?"

"My parents are okay. How have you been, Mrs. Scott?" She asked, desperate to get the conversation off of her and her family; especially the former question.

"Haley, how many times have I insisted you call me Deb? It's been going good here. I like running this café. And, you know, it gives me more time with Nathan since I don't have to travel anymore." Deb paused while she appeared to be deep in thought.

"Nathan! Have you seen him yet? Oh, Haley, he's going to be thrilled to see you!"

It took every ounce of restraint in Haley not to let out a bitter laugh.

"No, I haven't seen him yet," She lied, "But, in case you were wondering, I'm staying and I just got back and need to unpack and everything, so could you please not tell him that you saw me? I'll find him in a couple of days; I just don't need him interrupting my moving process." Haley rambled, she knew she had to stop, everyone knew that she rambled when she was nervous or lying.

"Yeah, sure. You should hurry up, though, he'll be angry if he finds out that you were here for a while and haven't spoken to him."

"Sure will." Haley smiles and gets up to leave. She's lost her appetite.

She doesn't know why she does it, but she does. Even though she's done a pretty good job of convincing herself that she doesn't care that her best friend doesn't remember her, she really does. It's confusing and sad and it just hurts.

"Has Nathan ever mentioned me? I mean, at all in the past five years. Do you really think he missed me?"

Deb smiles, sympathetically. She can tell that the girl is really unsure of her son's feelings towards her.

"He definitely misses you, Haley."

"He doesn't mention me?" She half asks, since she knows the answer.

"It's not about you," Deb begins, refusing to come out and bluntly answer her question, "It's about his pride. I can tell he's lonely, Haley, and he never was when we were in California. I don't think he opens up to anyone anymore. So I can tell he's missed you."

"But he's never mentioned me." Haley stated, clearly hurt. She doesn't believe that Deb knows what is going on in Nathan's head; she had never known what was best for her son.

"Haley-"

"It's fine. I didn't really expect him to. But does he really not talk to anyone? Is he really alone?"

Deb smiles sadly, "He has friends but none that he speaks to; none that are even as half as close as you two were. I always hoped that he would become good friends with his brother, but I doubt that will ever happen."

"Brother?" Haley asks Deb, since she feels she has a right to now.

"Yeah, his brother. You know, the reason we had to come to Tree Hill." Deb answers, confused at the perplexed girl in front of her.

"You didn't know why we left?"

Haley only shakes her head.

Deb feels bad for Haley; now she understands why she is so insecure about her relationship with her son. She doesn't know what to say to Haley, or what to do to make her feel better. She can tell she is confused and she also looks a little hurt.

"Haley, I think you should talk to Nathan about this. He would want to be the one to explain it to you."

Haley shakes her head 'no' and offers a forced smile in Deb's direction.

"I'll see you around."

_+++++++++She Paints Me Blue++++++++++++_

She didn't know where she was going once she left the café.

She was going to go to the River Court, seeing as it calmed her down every other time she's been there, but then she remembered that she was never able to be alone there. She didn't want to talk to Lucas about it and she definitely did not want to see Nathan.

Haley was, of course, confused. Yet, she was also hurt. Did Deb say that they left California because of this brother? Why didn't Nathan tell her?

She found herself at Jake's house and knocking on his door before she could even think about doing otherwise.

She calmed down once she saw the yawning baby in Jake's hands.

"Hey, Haley. You want to come in?"

"Please." Haley nodded and smiled, reaching her hands out for the baby as she walked passed her friend. The baby happily complied.

"So what's going on?" He asked as she took a seat in the mahogany rocking chair at the corner of the room and he began gathering Jenny's toys to put into the plastic bin.

"I went to Karen's café; you know, the place Lucas suggested?"

"Yeah, it's a great place."

"I ran into the lady who owns it."

"You met Deb?" He asked, surprised. He's only been to Lucas' new house once before and that was after a few years. He was shocked he already introduced Haley to his family.

"You know her?" She asked, surprised that the lady who owned the café and a boy who occasionally went there for some coffee were on a first name basis.

"Yeah, she's Lucas'," He paused, trying to find the correct label, "half-mom?"

"No, she's Nathan's mom."

"Yeah, hence her being Lucas'… half-mom."

"What?" Haley asked in genuine confusing.

"Nathan and Lucas are half-brothers."

"What?"

"You didn't know that?"

What?

**A/N: Yay! It's done! I'm hoping that this chapter was more exciting than the last few. I'm excited for the next chapter also!**

**I will, again, send you a preview of chapter 4, once I have something to send (I didn't start writing it yet, I'm falling behind). **

**Thank you for all of the reviews and the love! I really appreciate it!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	4. The Runaway

**A/N: Hi There! Even though I was rather disappointed with the amount of reviews I got for chapter 3 (at least when compared to chapters 1 and 2), I am very thankful for everyone who did review! I love this chapter and I'm getting rather excited; something big is coming up very shortly!**

_If you're missing, I will run away_

_I'll build a path to you_

_If you're missing, I will run away_

_Because I find myself in you_

_The Runaway- Something Corporate_

_Flashback_

"What are you wearing?"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like a bikini."

"Well, it's more like a tankini, but yes. Is that a problem?"

"No, but isn't a tankini supposed to cover your stomach?" Nathan stated accusingly at his eleven year old best friend's choice of swimming attire.

"It does; it's like halfway."

"Well than it's not a tankini."

"Whatever." Haley said as she rolled her eyes and lay down on the beach towel she spread across the sand.

Even with her eyes closed because of the blinding sun, she still felt a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her, "What are you looking at?"

"You're stomach."

She paused and waited for an explanation that she never received, "Why?"

"You're freckles are weird."

"Thanks." Haley stated, clearly offended and more insecure as she attempted to pull down the top part of her bathing suit.

Nathan laughed in response and reached into his bag that was on the ground beside him and pulled out a pen. He stopped the movements of this friend trying to conceal her stomach and pushed the material back up so he could see the freckles that were so intriguing.

"What are you doing?" Haley squealed as she felt the tip of the pen tickle the soft skin of her stomach.

"Perfect." Haley heard her friend mumble after a minute, as he pulled out his phone and took a picture of the shape he just drew on her stomach and showed her.

"You're freckles look like a star." Nathan explained as Haley looked at the picture of a star that was currently on her skin.

"You played connect the dots with my freckles?" Haley questioned.

Nathan nodded in agreement, "You should get it tattooed; it's a masterpiece."

_End__Flashback_

"I'm sorry." Haley said as she sat next to Lucas who was seated on the ground at the River Court.

"Hey," He smiled when he recognized Haley and pulled the headphones out of his ears. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry." Haley repeated.

"Why?"

"For bashing Nathan. I didn't know he was your brother."

Lucas smiled in understanding. He knew that she certainly wasn't his biggest fan, which he understood. He knew how he could be.

"It's fine; I know he can be a jackass. Plus, I didn't tell you."

"Yeah, what is up with that? How come I don't know much about you?"

"How come I don't know much about you?" Lucas countered.

"Touché."

They both smiled, a silent agreement to move this conversation from the point where it currently was. Family wasn't a topic either of them wanted to discuss.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment before it was broke by the sound of a car pulling up.

Haley's face scrunched up in confusion as a girl she recognized only because she sat with Nathan at lunch came out of the car and sent a toothy grin in Lucas' direction.

"Hey Luke." She smiled.

"Hey, Brooke."

Haley watched as Lucas stood up and the two stood staring at each other. Growing more and more uncomfortable Haley excused herself, breaking the silence that was present ever since their initial greetings.

"Bye Haley," She began, mimicking their greetings, "I'm out. I'll catch up with you later, Luke."

She offered a smile to Brooke and walked away in the direction of the park she recently found in Tree Hill.

"Wait," She heard Brooke call to her, "I'll see you tonight, right? You're coming to the Raven's victory party?"

"Uhh, I don't thi—"

"Come on, Hales," Lucas interrupted, "It'll be fun. I'm taking Jake, I'll pick you up to."

Against her better judgment, Haley nodded and made her way to the only place she ever managed to find complete silence and serenity.

++++++++She Paints Me Blue++++++++

"Dammit." Haley muttered under her breath as she saw the person she hates more than anything walking through the park, heading in the general direction of her bench.

She didn't make too many movements; she acted casual. He's a monster, right? Maybe if she stays still he won't see her.

"Oh my, look what the cat dragged in. I never thought I'd see you again."

He took a seat next to her on the bench and she rolled her eyes. He didn't seem surprised enough.

"Mrs. Scott told you I came back?"

"Of course, dear. You always tell the people you love your secrets."

Ouch.

"How are you doing, Mr. Scott?"

"Not as good as your buddy Nathan. He's had a better life since we've left California. He's happier without you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is. So I think it would be in your best interest if you continued to stay behind in the shadows, where you belong, and don't talk to Nathan."

"Why do you care?"

"He doesn't need to mess up his game."

"Oh, so he's happier without me, but I'd mess up his game?" Haley accused with a raised eyebrow.

Dan chuckled lightly.

"You haven't changed a bit. Still feisty and disrespectful. Still probably desperately and pathetically in love with my son."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, you heard me. It was pathetic, Haley. Even for an eleven year old. Listen, he's got a good life now, so don't mess it up. You can pity yourself all you want for this unrequited love, but don't get Nathan involved."

Before Haley could object, he was gone. Dan Scott always got the last word in.

+++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue++++++++++++

"Why the hell am I here?" Haley asked out loud, though more to herself. She looked around the crowded beach house and was convinced that it was a scene taken straight out a movie. She'd never been to a high school party before and she knew she was out of her league.

"Come on, Haley, it's not that bad. And the second you want to leave just tell me and we'll go."

"Alright, let's go."

"Haley." Lucas protested and they made their way into the tight kitchen of the Scott's beach house.

"I was joking. Kind of."

"It really isn't that bad." Jake tried. Haley only smiled slightly in response and grabbed the red cup that Lucas was holding out to her.

"Hey, Broody."

Haley looked up to see the familiar girl that appeared to be hanging onto Lucas for dear life.

"Hey, Brooke."

"How could you be here for two minutes and not find me yet?" Brooke sulked.

Lucas laughed.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I think I know how you can make it up to me." Brooke winked before sending a smile in Jake and Haley's direction and pulling Lucas off.

"When did that happen?" Haley asked Jake, clearly confused. She still hadn't gotten around to questioning Lucas about what happened in the River Court earlier in the day. She'd been friends with Jake and Lucas for two weeks now and she never heard Lucas mention a girlfriend before.

"I don't think it did happen yet." Jake shrugged before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Haley alone.

Great.

"Hey bitch."

Haley rolled her eyes as the fire haired girl with a current lack of clothing appeared in front of her.

"When does this end?"

Rachel smiled haughtily, "Aww, that's cute, you think it's going to end? When you stop taking all of Nathan's attention, I'll maybe consider lying off. A little. But you know, you did take him away for so long, plus you are just really annoying, that I don't think I will stop."

Haley paused, making sure that she was done before moving to walk passed her.

"This was fun and all, but I have better things to do."

Haley approached the back door of the beach house, hoping to get a break from the drunk people and the loud noise. What the hell did Rachel mean? She's taking all of Nathan's attention?

She didn't quite find the solace she was looking for as she slid the glass door that lead out to the porch. It was another group of partiers doing body shots. In fact, this was probably the last place she wanted to be.

Haley moved to go back inside of the beach house but stopped when she felt a tug on her arm.

"Where are you going?"

His breath so close to her neck and his body pressed up against hers sent chills throughout her. She quickly shook off the feeling; her best friend should not have this effect on her, and turned around to face him.

"Back inside. I don't have any interest in…" She finished with pointing to the cheerleader who was lying on a beer pong table while a boy sucked tequila out of her belly button.

"Oh yeah? Well I do."

She could clearly smell the beer in his breath and knew that that was what had caused him to do the following acts.

He grabbed her arm and pushed her down onto the beer pong table where the cheerleader was just before. He pushed her with force, but it wasn't rough; she knew if she fought she could have gotten out of his grasp, she doesn't know why she didn't.

He lifted the shirt off her head and she complied, instantly regretting it after when she realized she was putting on a show for other people around.

Nathan grabbed the tequila and sloppily poured it in her belly button, then proceeded to place the salt on her stomach, and finished with placing the lime wedge into her mouth.

Haley instantly relaxed her very tense body when she felt Nathan's hands being placed on her waist to hold her down and his head ducked down to her stomach.

He started licking his way up and down, being sure to take every morsel of salt that was lined on her body off. When he was done, he made his way down to her belly button, dipping his tongue in, more times than Haley knew was necessary. He finally made his way up to her mouth, pulling the lime wedge out of her mouth, their lips ever so slightly grazing across each other.

Haley could feel her heart beating heavy in her chest and made movements to pick up her shirt when Nathan pushed her back down and poured more tequila in her naval. She knew that she shouldn't have obliged but she did.

She could feel his hot lips on her stomach again before she even felt that salt being placed there. He ate away at her stomach hungrily, taking in every inch of skin he found.

Haley faintly heard the people whistling in the background but she didn't, couldn't, pay them much attention.

Nathan once again found his way to her belly button and teasingly drank the liquid from her. He dipped his tongue into her belly button and licking around the edge before devouring the warm liquid from her. He let him hands roam the rest of her body. He unnecessarily and, out of routine for regular body shots, kissed his way up her body to her mouth, sucking on her neck and the cleavage that was offered from her lack of a shirt.

He finally met her mouth and took the lemon wedge out before disposing of it immediately, not even bothering to suck the lime juice out. He instantly put his mouth back down to hers, before Haley pulled back, grabbed her shirt and ran.

She guesses she ran for a good five minutes before stopping to catch her breath. It was also hard to run considering she couldn't see because of the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes.

What the hell just happened?

She knew that she didn't want to stop, and clearly neither did Nathan, but she couldn't continue. It hit her heard that that was Nathan. Her best friend. Even though she knew her feelings for him were more than platonic, his weren't. She knew he'd be disgusted if he knew who she really was.

"Are you alright?" Peyton asked as she saw the clearly distraught girl sitting on the beach.

Haley jumped at first, unaware that there was another person with her before smiling.

"Not really."

"Me either." Peyton said while sitting down next to the girl that she knew Nathan had some sort of a weird connection with.

"I'm Peyton."

"Haley."

"It's nice to meet you, Haley," Peyton smiled, "Listen, I'm sorry if Nathan came on a little to strong before, he just-"

"No," Haley interrupted harshly. She could not talk about this right now, "It's fine."

"Alright," Peyton said, unconvinced, but moved on anyway, "That actually isn't why I came to speak with you anyway. No offense."

Haley laughed lightly before looking at the pretty girl next to her, "What's up?"

"That boy you're always hanging out with. What's his deal?" She asked cautiously.

Haley raised her eyebrow, "Who? Jake?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what do you mean 'what's his deal'?"

"I, I don't know. Never mind, forget I said anything."

"He's a great guy. He's always there when I need him," Haley recalled her first time meeting him; "I appreciate all he's done for me since I've gotten here. Not many people have been so nice."

"Do you like him?"

"What?"

"I, I'm sorry. I know I'm way out of line, I just…"

"You like him," Haley figured out, "So what, I see you in school all the time and I'm only good to talk to once you need me to be your pimp?"

"Uh, no, I'm sorry, I-"

"I was joking. I'll talk to him. Discreetly, of course Wouldn't want to blow your cover."

Peyton smiled before standing, "You know you're pretty cool, Haley, it was nice talking to you." She paused momentarily before continuing, "Do you want me to help you out too? Talk to him, I mean. Nathan."

"No. But you could if I wanted you to? I mean, you're close with him?"

"Not really. I mean, yeah, I could talk to him for you but that's because you're a girl that likes him; girls, parties, school and basketball is pretty much how deep our conversations get. He's a pretty reserved guy."

Haley nodded, showing that she understood. Deb was right.

He had no one and he needed her.

**A/N: And it's done! I'm so sorry that it took me forever to update but junior year of high school is busy!**

**Thank you so much for reading and for reviewing which I know all you lovely readers will do!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	5. Restless Dream

_Oh my imagination running wild  
>Guess I've missed you from the day that we first met<br>Crazy, this fascination makes a sound, like a twister in my mind  
>The restless dream we left behind I never will forget<em>

_Restless Dream—Jack's Mannequin_

"Ow."

Nathan complained as he grabbed his pounding head and sat up in his bed. How did he get home last night?

He groaned as he read the alarm clock and found that it was only six in the morning. He groaned even louder as he heard his dad's nagging voice trying to get him to wake up fully.

"How you doing, pretty boy? Can't even handle your alcohol, huh? Is there anything that you can be better than me?"

"Go away, dad."

"Oh, I don't think so. I told you we have to start waking up early and train again; it's not my fault you decided to get drunk last night."

"It's Saturday. I'm sleeping."

"Like hell you are." Dan insisted as he violently pulled on Nathan's blinds, ultimately blinding him.

"Get your ass down stairs. You better be there ready to run in fifteen minutes."

++++++++++_She__Paints__Me__Blue_+++++++++++++

"Dan, I told you to leave him alone and let him rest. He's had a tough week." Deb scolded her husband as he and her son entered the house at nine o'clock.

"He's a big boy, he can handle himself. Right, Nate?" Dan asked, elbowing his son in the ribs and laughing as the boy winced.

"Sure." He mumbled while taking a seat at the counter and accepting the coffee mug his mother extended out to him.

"Fine, but you better let him rest tomorrow."

"Yes, wife." Dan smiled sarcastically, while the rest of his family just rolled their eyes.

"So, Nathan, how's school been?"

"Okay."

"Yeah? Any new students this year, or anything?"

Deb smiled while the boys gave her a look.

"Why would he notice that, Deb? No one important or beneficial to his basketball career came, so why would he notice?"

Deb gave Dan a disapproving look which he gladly returned. Deb badly wanted Haley to come a find Nathan, but she stuck to her promise and never said anything to him. She knew her son would be thrilled to see her and she figured it would help the slump he's seemed to be in for the past five years.

On the other hand, Dan hated every time his wife brought up the girls name. He never cared for his son's loyalty and dedication to her and didn't wish for it to come back.

"Alright, I'm just gonna go now before this gets any weirder." Nathan announced, making a face at his parents and leaving.

_+++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++++_

"What in the hell do you find so damn intriguing about that bitch? She's not even that pretty." Rachel sulked, clearly upset over the fact that the boy she was pathetically obsessing over was interested in another girl.

"She's beautiful." He argued. "I think I hooked up with her again this weekend."

"You think?"

"I'm not sure," he winced at how bad that sounded, "I was pretty wasted at that party, but I remember being with her."

"That would explain why she was pretty distraught when I found her." Peyton confirmed.

"Distraught? That isn't really what I was going for."

Peyton shrugged sympathetically, "Maybe you should just leave her alone. You seem to upset her a lot, and she's a pretty cool girl."

"I don't want to leave her alone." Nathan spat out bitterly. Who the hell did Peyton think she was?

"How would you know what type of person she is? Do you talk to her?"

"Oh God," Rachel interrupts before Peyton can respond, "If we don't stop talking about that little bitch then you're going to see my lunch again."

"Stop calling her a bitch, what do you even know about her?"

"I know that she moves here and thinks she's some hot ass who can pity her way to the top of the social circle and I'm not going to sit by and let it happen."

Nathan rolled his eyes and glanced at the girl who has been invading his mind all weekend, before looking at Peyton.

"You've spoken to her?" He repeats his question.

"Unbelievable." A clearly pissed off Rachel mutters before collecting her belongings and storming off.

"Yeah, like I said, at the party. I found her on the beach, she looked like she had been crying. I talked to her a little, but she was funny and nice. I liked her."

"Did she seem mad? At me, I mean?"

"I don't know," Peyton shrugged, not wanting to tell her friend that he hurt the girl he obviously cares about, "She was just upset."

"You would be fond of someone because they were mopey." Brooke snorted, noting that her friend established her like of this girl yet only said how she was gloomy.

"She was only like that when I found her," Peyton defended the girl, "Really, Haley's pretty cool."

That is when Nathan began to choke on the water he was drinking.

Haley.

He never knew the girl's name.

"What?" He managed to ask, his voice sounding panicked and desperate; not a far cry from his actual feelings.

"I said she's pretty cool."

"Who?"

He knew everyone at the table was giving him strange looks, but he didn't care.

"Who?"

"Haley." She answered quickly, still slightly unnerved by her friend.

"Haley?" He whispered.

No, no, no it couldn't be. She couldn't be. He hadn't spoken to her in years…

The scar.

He remembers the scar. The fateful day he let her fall and couldn't help her.

No, that's just a coincidence.

He looks desperately around the quad to try and find the girl to help prove himself wrong. There's no way his Haley is here. No way he's talked to her several times and he's never recognized her.

He feels nauseous and even though he wants to see her, he prays it isn't his best friend. He'd been a jackass, he didn't remember her. She would be crushed.

His heart begins to beat hard in his chest as he recalls the say he first saw her in Tree Hill.

"_You don't remember me?"_

Shit.

"Are you okay, Nathan?"

"Where is she?" He demands, not even bothering to answer. He needs to see her now so he can make sure he's just being delusional and that this girl just has the same name as his old best friend. The same name, the same scar, the same eyes…

"Who?"

"Haley!" He yells, growing more and more agitated by the second.

"Uhh," Peyton pauses as she searches and finds that she is not at her usual table with Jake and Lucas.

"Oh, right there." She points to where Haley is walking in the direction of her usual table.

Without another word, he's out of his seat and finds that he is full on running to the girl.

"What are you doing?" She asks as he stands in front of her, not saying anything or moving, only staring.

He looks at her face and sees the innocence and the big eyes and is certain it's her.

And suddenly, the party comes back to him and he remembers being on top of her, kissing her, touching her, feeling her, seeing her.

The freckles.

He knows that no one else would have freckles like that; those freckles are as reliable in identifying her as her DNA would be.

Without saying anything, his hand travels to her shirts and begins lifting it.

"What the hell are you doing?" She protests and puts her hand on top of his to halt his movements.

He ignores her, and through his strength and her utter confusion, he is able to lift up her shirt to her bra.

The dark black ink in the shape of the star hit him like a bucket of ice water; he recalled that day on the beach.

This was Haley. This was his Haley.

He looked back up to her face and he saw pure confusion. God, that face. How did he not see it before?

Sure, she was more… mature than her eleven year old form, her hair was blonde and she was taller, but dammit, it was Haley.

"Haley?" He breathed out slowly and quietly, almost as if he were afraid that if he spoke too loud she would be scared away.

She swallowed hard as her heart thumped louder. Why was there desperation in his voice?

"What?" She asked through honest uncertainty.

"Haley." He insisted, willing her to know that he recognized her without him having to say it.

"Haley," He repeated with a sigh, pulling her into a hug. "I've missed you, Haley."

He sounded sad and Haley understood. He knew it was her. He knew that she was back.

As much as she wanted to accept his embrace and stay in his arms, she couldn't. He hurt her too much.

"Not enough to recognize me."

She pulled away and she was gone.

He lost her again.

**A/N: Yes, I know that this chapter is _really_ short, but I wanted to end it here, with a sort of cliff hanger. I wanted to give you a moment to embrace it.**

**But, I originally planned on having more after this in this chapter and then after writing it, I decided to cut it shorter, so I already have some of chapter 6 written already which will hopefully make me update the next chapter sooner!**

**Please review! Thank you!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	6. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

**A/N: As I sat here, wallowing in self-pity after reading James Lafferty's tweets to his girlfriend, desperately wishing I was her, I decided to put my current thoughts about him to use and write this chapter!**

**Also, in case you care, I am preparing for the SAT, therefore I need to expand my vocabulary. So, for now on (as long as I remember) I am going to pick a vocabulary word to use in each chapter. I will write the word and definition below just in case you don't know it:**

** Loquacious**- (_adjective_) talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous

**Warning: There is some not nice language in this chapter. I hope it doesn't offend.**

**Disclaimer: I forgot this on the last two chapters, but nothing's changed in the span of three updates; One Tree Hill is still not mine.**

_We're going down and you can see it too,_

_We're going down and you know that we're doomed,_

_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room_

_Slow Dancing in a Burning Room- John Mayer_

"What the hell was that?" The blonde asked her friend as he sat back down in his seat across from her.

She watched the interaction between Nathan and Haley and only grew confused. She doesn't know how he managed to already screw up with this girl. She's only been in Tree Hill for a few weeks.

Peyton's confusion quickly transformed to sympathy as she looked at the distraught boy in front of her.

"What the hell was that?" Brooke repeated Peyton's question for her, awaiting a response herself.

"I know her." He mumbled, sadly. He wasn't in the mood for their interrogation but he knows that he has to put up with it anyway.

He received silence and strange looks from his answer. He sighed in irritation, knowing that he would have to explain himself to them.

"She's my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend." A certain shaggy haired boy frowned as he sat down at his regular lunch table.

"I don't understand." Peyton stated in complete confusion. If this girl was his best friend, then how was he just telling them now?

"From California. She was my best friend before I moved here." He clarified with another sigh.

He didn't know what to do. Of course he wanted to run after her after she sprinted out of the quad and back into the school. Of course he wanted to hug her and talk to her and laugh with her; tell her about how his dad is still a jackass, his mom is home more, about his brother. But he also knows Haley, and he knows that she just needs some space right now.

With that thought, he shakes his head at himself in disgust. _He__knows__Haley_. It doesn't really appear that way. Her words keep ringing in his head; _"__Not__enough__to__recognize__me__"_.

He involuntarily shudders at the interaction that happened, in reality moments ago, but felt like an eternity. Nathan could feel his head and heart pounding harder with each thought and emotion that kept creeping into his mind.

He didn't know what to feel. His initial reaction to seeing his best friend was guilt. Not happiness, not nostalgic, not shocked, but guilty and embarrassed. He didn't know how to handle that.

The thing that got to Nathan the most right now though, was he sudden recollection of a rather insecure Haley. This was not something that she needed, and of course not anything she deserved. He started to feel nauseous.

"Nathan!"

He was broken back into the real world when a hand was waving in front of his face and he heard someone calling his name and everyone at the table giving him weird looks.

"I have to go." He mumbled before leaving with his lunch tray. He couldn't just sit there and pretend he was fine.

+++++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++++++++++++

As she sunk down against the wooden door to the tutoring center, Haley viciously rubbed her eyes in a desperate attempt to clear the tears out and finally enable herself to see again, although it didn't really work.

She silently thanked God for spending so much time in the tutoring center so that she was able to get there blindly.

Haley knew that she should probably be happy that Nathan noticed her, but she wasn't. How did he suddenly figure out anyway? Probably Deb. She was never the most trustworthy person.

Not that it mattered to Haley anyway. He obviously didn't care enough about her in the first place. She knew he didn't deserve her tears either, but she just couldn't help herself.

When she was finally able to stifle her tears, she stood up and sat at one of the tables in an attempt to not look as pathetic as she felt in case anyone were to walk in. She already convinced herself that Nathan wasn't worth her thoughts from when she first got here and he didn't remember who she was. This Nathan didn't mean anything to her, since she clearly didn't mean anything to him. Why should anything change now? It's the same Nathan either way.

"I know I'm doing this way too often, but I'm sorry my brother's an asshole?"

Haley looked to the door, where she heard a voice interrupting her thoughts and spotted the two boys who had befriended her since her first days in Tree Hill.

She offered them a weak smile and watched as they walked to the table she was sitting at and sat down with her.

Haley began wiping at her cheeks and under eyes in a failed attempt at removing the mascara that she knew had to have stained her face the second she began crying.

The two boys in front of her shifted uncomfortably in their seats as they watched Haley try clean herself up. Neither knew what to do. They only knew Haley for about three weeks and had yet to see her in such an obviously upset state. The usually loquacious girl was now sitting silently in front of them.

"He's not an asshole." Haley finally spoke up, though it was only a whisper and wasn't very convincing.

"Haley," Lucas began, but was cut off when she lifted her hand, signaling for him to stop speaking.

"Really, Lucas, Nathan didn't say anything, okay? I'm fine."

Lucas only nodded his head, defeated. He clearly knew that it was Nathan; both he and Jake watched the incident between the two in horror. But he didn't want to further upset Haley.

Haley sighed and was somehow able to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. She knew they meant well, but all she really wanted to do right now was sit and not think about Nathan.

She had to, once again, prevent the roll of her eyes when she looked up and saw the two boys exchanging uncomfortable looks. This really wasn't that big of a deal.

"I know him, okay? I knew him. When he lived in California, he was my friend. He just didn't recognize me until today." She shrugged, forcing herself to stop there. Her fake nonchalance was getting to her and she could feel her voice cracking and the tears returning to the back of her eyes.

"Wait, your Nathan's Haley? The girl he didn't stop complaining about for the first year he was here?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"Complaining?" Haley asked cautiously, in case she really didn't want to hear the answer.

"No, I mean complaining that he left. I never heard him say that he missed California, his old house, his old school, only you." Lucas clarified.

Haley felt a sudden wave of relief and happiness wash over her, before it went away again. It didn't matter what eleven or twelve year old Nathan felt, it mattered what sixteen year old Nathan did.

She faked a small smile in response; she didn't know how else she was supposed to react to what he had told her. He seems to have had appreciated it, but it didn't make Haley feel any better.

"Well I'm glad that you heard so much about me, but I never heard anything about you. He's supposed to be my best friend, but he never told me about his brother and then he couldn't even recognize me."

Haley suddenly realized her sudden lapse in her strong character and quickly redeemed herself. Standing, collecting her things and sending a smile to the boys in front of her, she walked to the door.

"Thanks for talking to me. I'll see you guys later."

She let out a long breath when she walked into the vacant hallway. This day had been nothing like she anticipated.

Haley didn't have that much time for relief, though, when she bumped into a girl in the hallway and she fell to the ground.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry." The girl finally looked up from her phone to see who she had sent to the ground. Smiling as she saw who it was, she extended a hand, which they girl on the floor gratefully took.

"Hi, I'm Brooke Davis, you're Haley, right?"

"Yeah," Haley began, smiling at the girl while she fixed the freshly picked up books in her hand, "You're Lucas'… friend, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. You're Nathan's, right?"

Haley's smile quickly left her face when she heard the girl speak up. She wasn't sure which kind of 'friend' she thought or knew Nathan was to her, but she didn't want to think about either.

"I guess." She mumbled back before turning in the hall and walking toward her next period class; the bell should be ringing soon.

"Wait," She heard Brooke yell and she saw her catching up to her in the hallway, "Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries or anything. It's just, Nathan's my friend, and he seemed really dazed and upset after he spoke to you. I'm just worried about him, I'm sorry."

"What did he tell you?" Haley asked, clearly uninterested in Nathan's feelings at this particular moment.

"Not much," Brooke started hesitantly, she could tell that this girl was already getting defensive, and she was sure that she was close to pushing her limits, but she wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, "Like I said, he was pretty dazed when he came back to the table. He just said that you were his best friend."

Haley swallowed hard. How many times was she going to have to avoid this conversation today? Especially when it came from a girl she has yet to even speak to.

Luckily, Haley was able to escape their conversation without seeming rude when the bell interrupted them.

"It was nice to meet you, talk to you later." Haley muttered out quickly before turning around and walking away as fast as she could, determined to not let the brunette follow her this time.

++++++++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++++++++++++

Lucas smiled as he entered his, what he still considered, new home. That's how it felt, even after five years; new. He appreciated it and he liked the house but it wasn't, and never will be, his home. He'll never get fully used to it, but that's just something he's accepted.

He enters the kitchen and sees Deb cooking and smiles again. He's not fully selfish. Lucas knows that the only reason Deb would be at home right now and not off on some business trip is because of what happened to Lucas. He's happy that Nathan was able to somewhat get his mom back.

"Hey Luke." Deb greeted the boy with a smile when she noticed him standing in the kitchen. She always greeted him with a smile. She felt that it was the least she could do and she was always determined to make the boy feel wanted and welcome by her family, because she knows that all the other members of her family didn't always do the same.

"How was school?"

"Pretty good." He answered with a smile, though they both knew that he was clearly hiding something.

Lucas knew that Deb had to know of Haley and he felt really bad for Haley's obviously terrible day at school, but he still wasn't sure if it was his place to tell Deb what happened. It clearly affects Nathan and he doesn't want to cause any problems.

"Are you sure?"

Before he could respond, they were interrupted by a loud voice ringing through the hallway.

"This is unbelievable!" A clearly angry Dan and Nathan finally appeared in the kitchen.

Deb sighed and rolled her eyes before interrupting the scolding that her husband was aiming at her son.

"What is it Dan?"

"That ass of a coach kicked Nathan out of practice. He doesn't know what the hell he's doing, never has. They better fire his ass soon."

"Calm down Dan," Deb started, annoyed by the man in front of her. Usually, Nathan was at fault for anything; Whitey was the only person that could do more wrong than him. "What happened Nate?"

"I already told you," Dan answered agitatedly for Nathan, "His coach is a bastard."

"Nathan-"

"His friend Haley's here." Lucas filled in for Nathan. He knew that this would cause Nathan to be angry with him, but he couldn't stand there any longer and listening to this pointless banter.

"Fuck off, Luke." Nathan retorted, turning his back to go storm up to his room.

"Nathan!" Deb scolded Nathan's language before asking, "She spoke to you?"

Her tone was now hopeful; she knew that Haley would help Nathan—take him out of his slump.

This appeared to have intrigued Nathan, because he turned back to face her with a confused face.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

Deb smiled, "Well, when I spoke to her at the café, she said that she was just waiting until she finished unpacking to come and talk to you and tell you that she was here."

Nathan began to panic and felt even worse for what happened. Is that true?

"When did you talk to her?"

"I don't know, A couple weeks ago. I think she was only here for a few days when I spoke to her."

"Dammit!" Nathan yelled as he threw the water bottle he was holding on the ground. He couldn't take it anymore. The guilt, anger, sadness and confusion that he was feeling all day was certainly getting to him.

"Nathan!" Deb gasped, completely confused about what was going on with her son.

"What the hell is going on?" Dan finally spoke up, clearly upset, unknown to anyone else in the house, at Haley. He told her to stay away from him, why can't she listen.

"She talked to him on her first day here and he didn't remember who she was. In fact, she talked to him several times and he didn't figure out today, until his friend said her name." Lucas clarified.

"Shut the hell up, Luke. Why can't you just mind your own goddam business!"

"No you didn't Nathan," Deb started, shaking her head, disappointed in her son, "How could you forget her?"

"I—"

"Good work son." Nathan was interrupted by a chuckling Dan who began patting him on the back. Turns out he didn't need to threaten Haley after all; his son did a good enough job ruining that relationship.

"Ah, what a great day this has turned out to be." Dan said genuinely, while laughing and going up the stairs; leaving his upset, angry and confused family behind in the kitchen.

**A/N: Yay, it's done! I'm sorry for the lack of Nathan and Haley, but I promise, there will be some major Nathan/Haley interaction in the next chapter! And I am super sorry for the long wait, and I am even more sorry for any grammatical errors; the only way for me to post it today was to not be able to re-read it and edit it.**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed and please review!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	7. Locked Doors

**A/N: Even though I am slightly disappointed with the number of reviews I received for last chapter, I am still VERY grateful for the people that did review. I know it took me forever to update chapter 6, so I am working very hard to get this chapter up sooner, which will hopefully make you readers happy!**

**Vocabulary word:**

** Cavort:** _(verb)_to leap around; to behave in a physically lively and uninhibited way

**Warning: Some more bad language…**

**Disclaimer: One Tree Hill is not, never was, and never will be mine.**

_So stop, stop, stop, stop, start again_

_It's hard admitting you're not fitting with your old friends_

_It's so disarming watching all the walls come closing in,_

_In on you, you got no clue_

_Locked Doors—Jack's Mannequin_

Nathan could feel his heart beating loud in his chest as he approached the classroom that he found off of his friend's schedule. If only trying to find Brooke was having this much of an effect on him, then he didn't know what it was going to be like once he found her and she was doing what he asked.

When he finally approached room 238, he let out a deep breath before going through the door and towards Brooke's homeroom teacher.

"Excuse me, but uh, Brooke is needed in the main office to uh, do some class president things." He stutters out, having to physically stop himself from shaking. He could usually lie through his teeth without hesitating, but this reaction isn't coming from the lie, but his nerves.

Nathan watched as the young homeroom teacher eyed him suspiciously, but quickly made a movement with his hand, giving Brooke permission to leave with him.

"That was miserable." Brooke commented once they found their way into the hallway and out of the classroom.

"Thanks." Nathan mumbled sarcastically, "I need your help." He demanded, getting straight to the point.

"With what?"

"I need you to go into the main office and find Haley's locked number. You can do that kind of stuff, right?"

"No, not really," Brooke began, glancing at Nathan in confusion, "Why do you need her locker number?"

"I, I wrote a note for her," He explained, lifting up the folded piece of paper in his hand, "I want to leave it in her locker."

Brooke rolled her eyes at her friend. It was only yesterday that the 'Haley drama' broke out, but she thought that he was taking it was too hard.

"Nathan, why don't you just talk to her, in person I mean. You can't avoid her forever."

"No, I'm not ready. She's not ready. Brooke, this isn't a simple situation, do you realize what happened? She's my best friend, she tried to rekindle our friendship and I couldn't even remember her. Do you realize how fucked up that is? She deserves more than that." He insisted loudly, getting annoyed at Brooke maybe too quickly. She just didn't understand.

"I get it Nathan, but in that case doesn't she deserve more than a note, too? You're upset Nathan, and she's hurt and a note isn't going to fix any of your problems."

"I didn't call you out of class to get your expert opinion on my situation, Brooke. Can you find me her locked number or not?" Nathan asked, growing infuriated at the girl in front of him.

Brooke sighed in defeat. She didn't know why she would think that she would ever be able to get through that thick skull of his.

"Come with me." She said before walking down a hallway and spotting Jake placing books into a locker.

She looked back at Nathan and smirked with pride in herself.

"Easier than we thought." She said before walking down the hall toward Jake.

"Hey Jake." She smiled coyly when approaching him.

The boy looked up from his locker and the expression on his face immediately went from indifference to disapproval the second he saw Nathan tracking behind her.

"What do you want?" He asked Nathan, bitterly, upset that he could so easily hurt his friend.

Brooke smiled at Jake before answering for Nathan, "Could you please tell us which locker is Haley's?"

"Why?"

"'Cause mister mess up here wants to send your friend a love note." Brooke explained.

"Brooke!" Nathan scolded in disapproval.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage?" Jake demanded.

Jake knew that he was probably overreacting and treating Nathan too badly, but he couldn't help but slightly resent him for what he did. Haley's been nothing but a good person and a great friend to him ever since she got to Tree Hill and the fact that someone could treat her so poorly, even if they didn't necessarily realize they were doing it, really got to Jake. Even if he didn't want to, even if it wasn't Nathan's intention, he still caused Haley to be upset.

"Don't you think you should mind your own damn business?" Nathan asked, becoming defensive. He was tired of everyone blaming him; he did it enough himself. Nathan just wanted someone on his side, and that thought only made him grow sadder when he realized Haley was the only person to ever take his side.

"My friends are my business," Jake started, "I know you don't get the concept of friendship in your world, but on earth you care about your friends, you watch out for them, and you certainly don't let people stomp around on them."

"What the hell do you know about Haley?" Nathan demanded, the volume of his voice growing louder. Who the hell did Jake think he was?

"A lot more than you do. About this Haley, anyway, the girl she is now. Dammit, Nathan, you couldn't even recognize her, what the hell do you know about her?" Jake asked, matching Nathan's voice, though this time, his face was met with a fist instead of a verbal attack from Nathan.

"Nathan!" Brooke yelled, trying to pull him off of Jake who fell to the floor after the surprise hit he received.

Nathan didn't know what he was doing. One minute he was trying to mend his friendship, the next he was beating up a guy who was just telling him the truth, but he couldn't help it. He knew the punches weren't really for Jake- they were just a way to get out all of his anger- but he continued to swing in a blur, not really even sure if he was hitting him.

Conveniently, the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom and welcoming all the kids into the hallway, though Nathan didn't care until he heard Haley's voice.

"Stop it, Nathan! What the hell are you doing?" Haley asked. The moment her voice reached his ears he stopped swinging and got off of the boy he had been swinging at.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She scolded Nathan, while consoling a Jake who was nursing a pretty bad nose bleed.

It all seemed to come to life and Nathan jumped out of his haze, his eyes widening as the realization of what he had done came to him.

He winced when he looked at Jake's already bruised eye and bleeding nose.

"Oh, damn, I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was doing, I…"

His ranting was interrupted when he was greeted by a very pissed off principal and coach, who he was forced to go to the office with.

Haley had somehow managed to help Jake enough to stand him up, shoo away the crowd of nosy students, and walk him to the nurse's office, with Brooke in tow, who decided it was safe to talk to Haley once Jake was sitting, speaking to the nurse.

"I'm sorry, Nathan shouldn't have done that. I don't think he knows what he's been doing lately. He's been pretty messed up."

Haley rolled her eyes before responding, "So I've heard."

"He's sorry, Haley. About everything." Brooke clarified.

"Okay," Haley started, "Is that supposed to make it all better? Because it doesn't. I can't just forgive him that quickly, Brooke. You don't know what our relationship was, so you don't get how much he hurt me, how much I just lost, you don't understand it, you can't understand it."

"Maybe I don't know about your relationship, but I do know you're being unfair to Nathan. Do you know how much shit he's getting because of this? He's miserable and so many people are scolding him and making him feel worse. What kind of a friend does that?" Brooke asked, growing angered at Haley. She truly felt that both of the people were overreacting.

Haley just shook her head, without responding. She didn't need to listen to what this girl had to say.

"Whatever," Brooke began when she only received silence, "I don't care. Here's a note that Nathan wanted to pathetically slip into your locker, but ended up in a fist fight with your friend instead. Do what you want with it, I'm done."

Brooke slipped the note into Haley's hand and slipped out of the door of the nurse's office.

++++++++++_She__Paints__Me__Blue_++++++++

"Have you seen Haley?" Lucas asked concerned as he approached the lunch table that Nathan usually sits at, though it seems that he's absent too.

"No," Peyton answered quickly, but never took her eyes off of the boy with the black eye that was slowly approaching her table too.

"Are you okay?" She asked him once he was closer.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks." He said, shrugging and taking a seat at the table.

"Where's Nathan?" He asked once he noticed his absence as well.

Jake felt bad about what he said to Nathan and hoped that he wouldn't get into much trouble for what he did to Jake, though he knew that he probably would anyway. The school has a strict no hitting policy.

"Where do you think?" Brooke responded.

"In class suspension or home?" Lucas asked, taking a seat next to Jake. He was worried about his brother and the wrath of Dan that he would face.

Lucas knew that Nathan didn't mean it, that he didn't know what he was doing and that he probably felt really bad about it now. He didn't want Nathan to get in trouble; he didn't want to face that at home.

That was another thing that Lucas grew to find unfortunate in his life. When Dan got angry, which was way too often in Lucas' opinion, he would tell off anyone who got into his path. If Nathan got suspended, if Nathan couldn't play in the Raven's next game, it wouldn't only get Nathan in trouble; Lucas would have to live in a hell equivalent as well.

"I don't know yet. The last I heard he was still in the principal's office." Brooke answered, before asking, "Wait, you can't find Haley?"

"Oh yeah," Lucas began, remembering his initial concern, "Have you guys seen her?"

"Not since she pulled Nathan off of Jake this morning." Brooke answered, as Peyton shook her head in response.

"Maybe she's talking to Nathan." Lucas said, hopefully.

He knew that the two avoiding each other wasn't good for either. He desperately wanted his brother and his new friend to work things out.

Brooke scoffed, "Yeah right. Like Haley would be big enough to do that."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jake spoke up, growing offended. When were people just going to leave Haley alone?

"I mean she's being such a damn baby about this. She has to just grow a pair and talk to him already. She's hurting him." Brooke explained, receiving a look of disbelief from Jake.

"You're kidding me, right? Would you talk to him? Would you be ready to happily speak to someone who you cared about so damn much but couldn't give you the fucking time of day to remember you?"

"Damn, don't get your panties in a bunch, I just think she's ridiculous." Brooke retorted, questioningly. "God, why do you care so much?"

"She's my friend, that's why I care so much, just like you're sitting here defending Nathan, I'm going to sit here defending Haley. What he did to her wasn't okay, it wasn't right, and I'm not going to sit by and let people judge and criticize her because she's upset."

Jake waited for a response that he never got before standing from the table and leaving.

++++++++++_She__Paints__Me__Blue_++++++++++

Haley sighed as she made her way to the detention room, certainly a place she never thought she'd be going.

She looked back down at the crumpled sheet in front of her and read it again, for what she thought had to be close to the hundredth time that day. It didn't say much, but it meant something to her. He was willing to skip lunch with his friends to meet up with her, that meant something right? She didn't really think so, but what Brooke said got to her this morning and right away she made the decision to listen to the slip of paper and go meet up with Nathan and talk to him. She didn't think that she was ready, but she never thought that she would be.

_I'm sorry, Haley. Please come talk to me at lunch in the tutoring center. I already packed us lunch- peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I'll be waiting._

_-Nathan_

She sighed once again as she approached the door with the bolded word 'DETENTION' written across the glass.

Once she read the note and witnessed the fight between Jake and Nathan, she cut class. She knew that they wouldn't send Nathan home since he already came to school that day and that he would be sent to the detention room for the day, resulting in her only time to see him being detention.

When she opened the door she looked right at the teacher, avoiding the students in the desks, wanting to make sure that she gave the note to the teacher before anything went down with Nathan.

Haley sighed in relief when she recognized Mr. Johnson at the desk and heard the quiet talking of the kids in the detention room. Haley had heard about Mr. Johnson, the coolest teacher in the building, who claims he only became a teacher so that the kids who had him would have a period to relax. His apathy toward obeying the rules of the classroom appeared to spread to his detention duty, seeing as he was absorbed in a book and letting the kids who were supposed to be dead silent talk as they pleased.

When Haley reached Mr. Johnson's desk and dropped down the detention slip, she slowly turned her head and surveyed the room. There were a considerable amount of kids there, but none that she particularly cared about.

Though, she felt herself get filled with regret the second she spotted Nathan in the corner of the room with Rachel draped around his shoulder. She couldn't believe she got detention for him. Was he just playing her?

She was about to take a seat in the front row, as far away from Nathan as she could get until she heard him call her name.

"Haley! What are you doing here? Come here." He yelled out quickly. He appeared to be nervous. Yeah, he planned on speaking to her today, but not now, not in detention, not with Rachel on top of him. He wasn't prepared right now.

Not wishing to cause a scene, Haley obeyed Nathan's request and walked toward him, taking the desk in front of him.

"What are you doing in detention?" Nathan asked.

Haley only shrugged. She didn't want to tell him that she cut class and got detention for him.

"What are you doing in detention?" She settled on, challenging him. Maybe he would understand that she didn't want to discuss it, just like she knew he didn't.

"I think you know." He said back, hesitantly, not wanting to relive the events that took place earlier that day.

During his day in detention Nathan got a lot of thinking done and he worried about how Haley would take it. She would never have approved of him fighting, especially not fighting for her. When they were younger she would constantly stick up for herself and Nathan, leading him and protecting him. And he knew that Haley certainly couldn't condone him beating up her friend. He thought he royally screwed it up more that he already did, but Haley was talking to him right now. That's a good sign, right?

"Why did you beat up Jake?" She asked, looking seriously confused.

Nathan tried to swallow the lump that had just quickly formed in his throat. She didn't know? He didn't want to tell her, make her hate him more, but he couldn't lie…

"Jake was yelling at Nathan for not talking to you. You know, how you're just a helpless, pathetic little girl and Nathan should be more careful with your feelings of unrequited love to him." A previously silent Rachel answered for Nathan.

Nathan started to panic when he realized Rachel answered for him. He completely forgot that she was there in the first place and he was quickly growing tired of her pathetic attempts to hurt Haley and tarnish his relationship with her.

"No, that's not why." Nathan quickly clarified, watching Haley roll her eyes and turn back around in her seat.

Nathan saw Rachel smile before rolling his own eyes and telling her to get off of him. He didn't want to be near her.

"Whatever." She said before hopping off and cavorting over to a boy on the football team.

Nathan sat anxiously in his desk. The last thing he needed was Rachel hurting his progress further. He was desperate to get Haley to talk to him so they could work this through.

It was last night when the realization that Haley was in Tree Hill hit him. Since he realized that it was Haley and that he at first didn't recognize her, all of his concern was on making her feel better- he never had the full opportunity to rejoice in the fact that Haley was in Tree Hill and that she was going to school there. That was a good thing, right? That meant a permanent settlement. Nathan couldn't help but hope that this would mean he was be getting his best friend back, that is, once he was able to get her to forgive him.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Haley questioned, interrupting Nathan's thoughts.

By the confused expression that appeared on Nathan's face, Haley clarified was she was talking about, "You gave me a note. You wanted to talk to me."

Nathan gulped. While sitting in detention, Nathan did a lot of thinking and ultimately concluded that he was glad that he didn't give Haley the note. It seemed too corny and pathetic to him, and he didn't want Haley seeing him like that, like he was when they were younger.

Sure, he was still vulnerable and sad, but that only expanded as far as inside of him. When he came to Tree Hill, he was confident to change, so he did. He was no longer timid and weak, like he used to appear.

"How'd you get that note?" He asked, still slightly confused. He never dropped it in her locker, hell, he never found her locker.

"Brooke gave it to me. I'm sorry, I guess it was a mistake." Haley said, shrugging and moving to turn back around in her desk.

Nathan quickly began berating himself. She was talking to him, that was a start, and he was making it appear as if he didn't want to speak to her.

"No, wait," Nathan began quickly and waiting until she turned back around to speak again, "I did want to talk."

"Okay." Haley said, after waiting for Nathan to elaborate and getting no response.

Nathan sighed before continuing. He didn't know exactly what to say to her.

"Look, Haley, I'm sorry," He started, but stopped once he watched her roll her eyes, "I am. I really am. Haley, I miss you, I mean I missed you, okay, I did. Moving here was hard, being without you was hard. And I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, but I'm glad you're back and I want you to forgive me, I want you to be my best friend again. I need you in my life Haley, please."

Haley shook her head, not trusting her voice. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. Speaking to Nathan about what happened just made it all too real. This was really happening, she's really abandoned by her parents, in Tree Hill and without her best friend.

"Stop, Nathan, now's not the time." She whispered before turning back, only to be interrupted by Nathan grabbing her arm.

"Fine, what about tonight? We can go out to dinner and talk things through." He asked, desperately.

"I don't know…"

Nathan could hear the hesitance in her voice and he knew of the argument that she was having with herself in her head.

"Please, Haley, I really need to talk to you. We really need to talk."

Haley sighed, before nodding slightly. Nathan was always able to get Haley to do what he wanted, he was her weakness.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Nathan asked, making sure he heard her right. Once he saw her nod her head, he continued, "Okay, how about I pick you up tonight, at seven?"

Haley nodded despite the nervousness she could feel building in her stomach.

Just then, the bell rang and Haley picked up her books, and carefully turned back to face Nathan, before leaving, "I guess I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yeah, see you tonight then."

Nathan smiled as he watched her leave, and pushed aside the flutter he felt in his heart as he watched her go and he thought about their date that night.

**A/N: Longest chapter yet, though I have mixed feelings. The whole interaction between Jake and Nathan was not at all planned when I went into this chapter, but what do you know? Here we are. **

**Because of this, there is less Nathan and Haley interaction than I originally planned there being, but next chapter will definitely have a lot of Naley, including their "date" and more arguing and working this out, and blah blah blah…**

**Please review! Thank you so much!**

**Oh, and for those who celebrate, have a very Merry Christmas!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	8. Boston

**Warning: **Sometimes bad language adds to the story. Other times it just sounds like a way Nathan would react, sometimes I just want to feel like a bad$$. Oh, there I go again…

**Disclaimer: **Eh, I was only 8 years old in 2003, what do you expect? I don't own the** show.**

_In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun…_

_Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,_

_The world you must have crossed, she said,_

'_You don't know me, you don't even care, you don't know me, you don't wear my chains'_

_Boston- Augustana_

Nathan sighed when he began rummaging through his closet to find something somewhat decent enough to wear. He didn't even know where he was taking Haley or what they were going to be doing, but he figured looking nice wouldn't hurt, plus the distraction would certainly help him.

His mind had been running nonstop since the reality of the day sank into him. When the day started out he planned to give Haley the note and have her not show up, or if she did, that she would be leaving shortly after since she couldn't handle it. But no. Here he is, five in class suspensions later and finding the right clothes to wear for his outing with Haley.

"You going somewhere?" Nathan broke out of his thoughts when he heard his mother speaking to him from the opening of his door.

"Yeah." He answered shortly, unsure if he wanted to tell his family that he was going to see Haley. He knew his mother would be thrilled to hear it, seeing as she so badly wanted Haley back into his life, but he didn't really want her to get involved. Plus, he didn't want Dan knowing. Dan never did like Haley, or really any girl in that was in Nathan's world for more than just one night because he believed that all they did was provide unnecessary distractions.

"Oh, I wish you would have told me sooner, I already set the table." His mother stated, seeming to be hiding something. Nathan could tell that she was nervous and that she didn't come to his room for some idle chat, but at the moment he didn't care to know what was going on. His mind was too preoccupied already.

"Sorry." He mumbled pathetically as he continued search through his closet. All he seemed to own were workout clothes or shirts and ties, nothing mid-way fancy.

His mother could pick up on Nathan's apathy toward their conversation and just decided to stop beating around the bush, "You know, Nathan, I was thinking about inviting Haley over for dinner one night. You know, I saw her in the café and I think she's living in Tree Hill alone, she might be getting lonely. Plus, it will be just like old times, when she came over for dinner every Saturday. Do you remember that, Nathan?"

Nathan halted his movements during his mom's rant. No, he could not have Haley coming to his house for dinner. He had been contemplating even letting his parents know that he was speaking to her, there was no way that he would allow her to come so that they could poke and prod at her and ask her millions of questions. He didn't want to do that to her.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Nathan said quietly, not wanting to sound weak.

He heard his mother let out a loud sigh before she spoke up, "Nathan, I think you are being ridiculous. This is Haley we're talking about; there is no way that she could still be mad at you. Are you even trying? Are you making an effort, Nathan? Don't you want her back in your life? I know you missed her, I don't understand why you're sitting here, pushing her away."

Nathan could feel himself growing angrier and angrier with every question and accusation that Deb was throwing away. Who the hell did she think she was? What the hell did she know about his relationship with Haley?

"Of course I want her back in my life, I am trying and I'm not pushing her away. She is still mad at me, mom, it isn't that simple."

Deb could clearly see the aggravation and sadness that was plastered on Nathan's face, but she didn't retreat. She truly did not understand what was going on with her son, not that she had ever previously been able to figure it out.

"Are you sure you're trying? Because I haven't seen her here yet and the one of the two times I've seen her walking around Tree Hill she was with Lucas and Jake, not you."

Nathan had had enough of his mother interfering with his life and his decisions, especially when she really had no ground to stand on. She wasn't there when he was a kid in California with Haley and he didn't allow her to get involved with his life now. Not after she had hurt him for all of those years and the only person that would be able to help him through it was on the opposite side of the country.

"Stop it!" Nathan started, finally giving up, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about, alright? I do want Haley back in my life, I need Haley back in my life, but she's pissed at me and it's not the easiest thing to fix."

He stopped, calming down and beginning to feel bad about blowing up at his mother. It's been a stressful day and she just pushed him over the limit of things that he could deal with in one day.

"I'm sorry, okay?" He said, especially when he saw his mother's concerned face, "I am making an effort, alright. I'm going out to dinner with her tonight." He announced, caving in and informing his mother of his plans.

"Oh you are! That's fantastic, Nathan." Deb beamed, very happy for his son.

"Thanks," Nathan started, "I really—"

"What's fantastic?" Nathan was interrupted by his father entering his room as well and breaking into the conversation that his wife and son were having.

"Oh, Dan, Nathan's taking Haley out to dinner tonight!" Deb exclaimed, still clearly excited, and not realizing her mistake of telling Dan the truth about his son's outing.

"Oh, is he?" He asked Deb, though clearly directing his question at Nathan.

"Yeah," Nathan started, collecting himself and feigning nonchalance. "It's not a big deal."

"Who are you kidding, Nathan? Of course it's a big deal." Deb said, not wanting her son to hide him emotions. She knows that this is affecting him, that's why she's so happy for him.

"Whatever." Nathan said, shrugging, and finally grabbing the first shirt he saw and pulling it over his head, needing to get out of his house as quickly as possible.

Nathan was near the front door of his house, when he was interrupted.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked with an eyebrow raised.

Nathan rolled his eyes and let out a defeated sigh at his brothers accusing thoughts. He didn't want to tell anyone where he was going, and now he was telling everyone.

"To pick up Haley." Nathan answered, exaggerating the annoyance in his voice, letting Lucas know that he was indeed bothering him.

Lucas remained silent, though gave him a look, indicating that he didn't understand and that he wanted Nathan to explain further.

With another dramatic sigh Nathan clarified, "I'm taking her out to dinner so we can talk."

Lucas smirked before letting out a small laugh, "I know. Haley told me. We're friends, remember?"

"Yeah." Nathan responded simply, growing more and more irritated by Lucas.

He was already frustrated by the amount of people who know about his outing tonight and the abundance of questions being thrown his way, but the realization of what Lucas just said did it for him. It suddenly bothered him that Lucas was close with Haley. Haley's his friend, not Lucas'.

Wait, Haley isn't his friend. That hurt even more.

"Is that it? Because as enticing as this conversation is, I have places to be." Nathan stated angrily, when he noticed that Lucas was making no move to get out of his way.

"Listen, I'm going to let you go, but just be careful, man. I mean, don't treat her bad, alright? She's been through a lot."

At this comment, Nathan was sure that there was smoke visibly pouring out of his ears. Who the hell did Lucas think he was? Why did he ever think Nathan's intent was to hurt Haley? Since when does Lucas get the upper hand when it comes to Haley?

"Fuck you, Lucas." He yelled, pushing him aside and leaving through the door. If he would have stayed in there a second longer he was sure that he would physically harm Lucas and he's done enough beating up of people today as is.

Nathan knew that he should have probably waited until he calmed down a bit more before he went in his car to go pick up Haley, but he didn't. He couldn't stall anymore; he wanted to see her, he needed to make things right.

The streets of Tree Hill were rather vacant, but Nathan didn't seem to notice too much. His thoughts were rather preoccupied with other things, remembering his previous life in California with Haley.

Those, to him, wonderful thoughts only ceased once he found himself in front of the apartment complex. Nathan suddenly felt himself growing more and more nervous, though excited, as he walked up the steps to go to Haley's apartment. The reality of what was happening—a second chance with the best person he has ever met—hit him and he couldn't wait to get to Haley. He needed to talk to her, get her to forgive him so they could move on. So they could be friends again. So they could be more.

No—Nathan quickly stopped those thoughts. All the hectic and chaotic events that entered his life once he remembered Haley quickly pushed aside his growing feelings for the 'new' girl. But now it was real; the reality of his old best friend being with him sank in and he was once again faced with the wrath of his developing feelings. Though, he seldom allowed himself to think softly of Haley and with good reason. He just needed to focus on their friendship right now.

When Nathan approached Haley's front door and stuck out a finger to ring the doorbell he paused, noticing that her front door was already slightly ajar. Taking it as an invitation, he simply pushed the door open, stepping into her cozy apartment and calling out her name.

He was greeted with a surprise yelp from Haley who was sitting on the couch in the far side of the room, painting her toenails.

"Sorry," Nathan started, making his way towards her, "The door was open and I—" He stopped when he finally got to the other side of the couch and saw Haley, since his breath seemed to get caught in his throat. He did not expect to see a topless Haley, save her bra.

"You're early." Haley said, clearly uncomfortable because of the way Nathan was staring at her and the lack of clothing she was wearing.

"What?" Nathan asked when he finally processed that she even said something. He removed his eyes from her body and looked at her face, feeling bad for staring, but happy that he had enough self-reserve to not pounce on her.

"I said you're early." Haley clarified, feeling more comfortable once he looked into her eyes, though still rather on edge, especially when he took a seat on her couch next to her.

"Oh, sorry, I, uh, I didn't realize." Nathan stuttered, feeling himself once again losing his will power when his eyes caught onto the dark black ink on her stomach.

So many emotions were beginning to pool over Nathan. The night he first saw it, which didn't help him stop thinking about her in a more than friendly way; the day he suggested it to her on the beach, when he was a completely different Nathan who had Haley; the mere fact that she still didn't have a shirt on. It was all getting to him.

Haley didn't know what to do. Usually when she was nervous she would play with the hem of her shirt, but that was clearly not a current option. She felt self- conscious and unsure of what to do and how to respond. Why the hell was he looking at her like that?

"Nathan?" She asked hesitantly, prompting him to say something or do something. She just needed something that would break whatever was currently going on between the two of them.

Haley jumped slightly when one of Nathan's fingers reached out and began tracing the dark star that was plastered on her stomach. Her heart rate increased when she felt him touching her and saw the look in his eyes. She had to try hard to convince herself that the actions he was doing was just because of the memories of their childhood and not because of their almost, kind of hook-up a week or so ago, but the look on his face was just telling her otherwise.

Nathan sat for a few moments, continually tracing the star, enjoying the reaction he was getting from her and the feel of her smooth skin.

He leaned forward, moving closer to Haley and placing his forehead against hers. Her eyes shut at the contact, trying desperately hard to figure out what the hell was going on. Nathan removed his finger from the star and replaced it with his entire hand, laying it across the pointy shape.

"God, I missed you, Haley." He breathed out, pulling back from her slightly and leaning against the back of the couch, leaving behind an utterly confused Haley.

"When did you get it?" He asked silently, still feeling rather emotional about everything. About their situation, about the tattoo, about the fact that he just really wanted to kiss her.

"Huh?" Haley asked in a daze. She didn't know what was going on with her and Nathan right now, but she know that she missed the sudden lack of contact with his body.

"When did you get it?" He repeated, pointing in the general direction of her stomach. He felt himself getting slightly back to normal and he didn't quite trust himself to speak.

"Oh," She responded, slightly embarrassed. Acknowledging it aloud was different for Haley than Nathan just tracing it. "You're sixteenth birthday." She finally answered.

A lump formed in Nathan's throat at that admission. He had missed this girl so damn much.

"How's California been?" He asked, thinking back to their original friendship.

"Okay. Lonely. I've missed you, Nathan." She explained carefully, not wanting to be too vulnerable in front of Nathan yet.

"Haley-" He began with a sigh. He didn't want to hear that. He wanted to hear that she was able to move on, if only a little; he wanted to hear that she was able to be happy.

"It's fine, Nathan. I was fine. I didn't sit in fetal position in the corner of my room crying for the last five years, okay. Did I miss you? Yes, of course, more than anything, but you are not my whole life."

"I didn't think that." Nathan said, slightly hurt by what she said, but also knowing that he shouldn't be. He changed his mind. He wanted her to miss him, to think about him every day.

"How's Damien?" Nathan asked, deciding to move on and hopefully get their conversation into a lighter area. They haven't even left her apartment yet, the drama couldn't quite begin yet.

Damien West. The kid who picked on Haley in the playground when they were eight years old, then tried to kiss her the next day. Up until he was eleven and left for Tree Hill, Nathan personally was never a fan of the boy who never attempted to hide his crush on Haley, but she insisted on keeping him around during lunch and recess and the occasional after school activity. He was nowhere near being included in Nathan and Haley's presumably unbreakable friendship, but he was there and a part of Nathan's childhood.

"Assy, like usual. I mean he's Damien." Haley said with a laugh. She missed Damien.

She paused before continuing, "We kind of hooked up a few times."

"What?" Nathan asked, feeling slightly on edge. He could only assume that Damien grew up to be like Nathan—well, at least like his jackass teammates. He knew Damien played basketball, pretty damn well, too, and he had the attitude for it. Nathan couldn't imagine Haley with a guy like that.

"I mean, it's not that unreasonable. He kind of became my only friend when you left, and we both know that he's liked me for forever."

Nathan looked away at her comment before voicing his concern, "He replaced me."

"No, of course not, that's not what I meant Nathan. He was just there and you weren't."

Nathan scoffed at her comment, growing upset and hurt. How could that little punk ass kid be a replacement for him?

"Nathan-" She began, realizing her poor choice of words and his suddenly tense body.

"Whatever, Haley. Do you want to go?" He asked while standing up and walking back a few feet, creating space between them.

"Uhh, yeah, okay, let me just get dressed." She said, standing up and walking to her room, deciding to let the hostility go right now. She could feel the tension in the air and figured the outside air might help to clear it.

The ride in the car was silent and awkward, with Nathan's hands tightly gripping the wheel, while Haley just stared out the window, soaking in the town.

"How could you hookup with Damien? I mean, fucking Damien West?" Nathan asked once again, unable to shield the jealously and anger her felt.

"I don't know. He was interested, I was curious. Why is it such a big deal?" Haley defended.

"It's not, I just… Damien West? I'm sure your parents loved that." Nathan laughed.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Haley tense slightly at the mention of her parents. He figured she missed him.

"Hey, why are you in Tree Hill, anyway?" Nathan asked, just realizing that he didn't quite know the answer to it. He's been so caught up in all the other drama that he didn't get a chance to ask her.

"I, uh, it's nothing. I missed you." She answered, avoiding looking at Nathan.

He decided to let it go, for now anyway, once he realized that they were in front of the restaurant that he wanted to take her to.

"I love this place." He told her as he opened her door for her and allowed her to step out.

"What is it?" Haley questioned, looking at the restaurant that didn't appear to be at all fancy or exceptionally nice. It looked rather homey and comfortable instead.

"I go here everything I get all nostalgic, or whatever. It reminds me of you." He responded before pushing the door open and allowing her to go in first.

"Should I be offended that a place full of food reminds me of you?" Haley asked jokingly, receiving a light laugh from Nathan in response.

"That's not why I think of you when I come here. It's called Mad Mac's. Has multiple various forms of macaroni and cheese. Chili mac and cheese, pizza, lasagna, meatball, you name it."

Haley genuinely smiled at that. She loved how he knew and remembered all these details about her. It made her a little less mad every time he showed that he remembered her.

"Haley, I'm sorry about not remembering you." He started, slowly and cautiously.

He could tell that she wasn't completely pissed at him right now and that they were in a public restaurant and he planned on taking advantage of those things. If what he had to say angered her, he was hoping that this would cause her to react better and freak out less.

"Dammit, Nathan." She scolded, clearly irritated at his attempts of apologizing in a public place. She figured that this conversation was coming, but she thought it would be after. She thought that he truly just wanted to talk to her during dinner, get their friendship back on track.

"What? Haley, I'm sorry, I am. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Nathan, could we not do this now? I want my macaroni and cheese."

"Haley—"

"Not now, Nathan." She finally insisted, ending his apologizes and bringing back an uncomfortable and dissatisfying silence.

The rest of their dinner remained that way as well, only consisting of idle conversation and light glances, neither wanting to further ruin the ever tarnished night.

Nathan was just pretty much pissed. At the situation, himself and even slightly at Haley. He hated that he had to bring their situation up and that Haley had to respond so damn badly. He was sorry and he wanted her back in his life, why the hell couldn't she just accept that?

Although, the thing that Nathan hated the most about the night not working out was just that fact. He hated that he could no longer have a happy and satisfying night with Haley; there was always conflict and drama and just something else going on.

"Thank you for dinner, Nathan, I'm sorry I freaked out in there." Haley stated once they were out of the restaurant and taking a walk down the streets, saying the first feasible sentence since their small argument in the restaurant.

"It's nothing. And don't worry about it, I mean, I shouldn't have brought it up. Not then and there, anyway."

"Yeah." Haley agreed, nodding her head. She sighed before turning back toward him, "Nathan, I never thought that you intentionally forgot me, that you saw me, something clicked and you denied it of believing it was me, that's not the issue, I know it wasn't on purpose. Just the fact that you could forget me, that I could be your best friend for seven years and then five years later you can't even pick me out of the crowd- that's what hurts, that's what I'm mad at."

"I know, and I'm sorry for it. I don't know what to do, I can't take it back." He stated, desperately, not shielding the genuine sorrow in his voice.

"I know, Nathan, I know, I just—Ahh, how could you, how could you not remember me?" Haley asked, knowing that she was already close to tears. It hurt her to think about Nathan not remembering her, but to bring it into a reality and discuss it with him was just a whole other level of pain.

"I, I don't know, you look different." Nathan argued pathetically, cringing at his response himself.

"No I don't!" Haley yelled back, being too caught up in the heat of the moment to truly realize his terrible defense.

"Yes, you do!" Nathan hollered back, now going along with this defense. He would go with anything that would help to get him off the hook.

"Not any more different than you! The second I saw you, Nathan, I knew it was you! I could see the hurt in your eyes, the sadness, the desperation, I remembered you!" Haley proclaimed, finally being hit with his nonsense defense.

"I, I don't know, Haley, I'm sorry. I've been through a lot of shit, alright? It was hard leaving you and having to come deal with the stuff here. Okay? It's been a lot and I really needed you and it was just hard." Nathan defended urgently, needing her to understand.

"Yeah, well, I needed you too. That's why I came here, because I needed you. I remembered enough of us to know that you were the only person who could help me out and get me through this. I remember you and I remember us." She yelled, allowing the inevitable tears to flow willingly down her cheeks. He hurt her so much and it wasn't bearable to deal with this without allowing herself to cry.

"I'm sorry." He cried out, with so much desperation in his voice that they both could tell that he was probably going to start crying to.

"That's not good enough." She said, quieting her voice slightly, feeling the strain of the situation on her at full force.

"What do you want me to say?" Nathan asked, needing her to help him out and guide him through this fight. Needing her to know how truly sorry he is and much he needs her back.

"I don't want you to say anything. I want you to remember me! I want you to have picked me up and spun me around when you saw me. I want you to have seen the hurt in my eyes, the way only you ever could and asked me what was wrong. I want you to have held me when I told you I was dumped with you because Taylor died and my parents began resenting me, saying if I weren't still in high school, they could have been traveling and they would've been there to see her and they would have been able to help her. I want you to have had remembered the only person that you claim you've ever cared about. But you didn't, Nathan. So I don't what I want you to say, because apparently I don't know you."

Haley finished, breathing heavily and gasping for air. She knew that she was a mess right now, so damn vulnerable and hurt but she didn't care. She was pissed, and sad, and hurt and she was in no position to make sure she looked fine.

Nathan was visibly crying too. He didn't realize that he missed so damn much, that while he was sitting there, being an ass to her and not remembering her, she only needed him to help her and support her. To help her get through her sister's death and her family's resentment. He had never felt more disgusted with himself in his life.

"Taylor died?" He asked, barely audible, though Haley heard it.

She was able to regain the slightest bit of self-composure, before walking away and responding over her shoulder, "That's not good enough either."

**A/N: Sorry that this took me so long, I kind of pushed it off, not wanting to deal with the intense chapter, not realizing that it's midterms and I was going to get more work at this one time than I've ever received before. **

**Nonetheless, it's done, and unfortunately not revised since I wanted to get it up, so I am so very sorry for any grammatical mistakes.**

**Please review, if you do you get a preview for the next chapter. Thank you!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	9. Hey Jude

**AN: *Waves white flag* Please don't hate me. I know I am a terrible person, but I just had major writer's block and then I got really busy and okay, I'm done with excuses. Wait, I lost my free period when it became the new semester, resulting in me losing close to four hours (I really did the math) of writing time per week. Okay, now I'm done.**

**Disclaimer: If I f-ing owned this show than I wouldn't have let James Lafferty only sign up to be on seven episodes in the last season. I would have strapped him to a chair and made him act! Oh, I am so funny. #irony. I hope I didn't just put a hashtag there, this isn't Twitter. Okay, stop ranting, Megan, you're insane, you're scaring away the readers.**

_Don't make it bad,_

_Take a sad song and make it better,_

_Remember to let her under your skin,_

_Then you'll begin to make it better_

_Hey Jude- The Beatles_

"You're house is awfully quiet." Brooke muttered against his lips as she pushed him into his house.

"They're out." He answered simply, not wanting to be rude and ignore her comment but also not wanting to interrupt their current state of intimacy.

"It's a school night. Where the hell is everyone?" Brooke asked, finally pulling away from Lucas, causing him to sigh. He knew that she was just concerned for him, but he didn't want to talk about his family.

"Dan and Deb had to go to some business dinner or something." Lucas answered, hoping she wouldn't ask about Nathan, but he knew that she would anyway. He didn't know if Nathan wanted people to know what he was doing tonight, but he didn't want to lie to Brooke either.

"And Nathan…" She started, clearly wanting Lucas to finish for her.

"He's out with Haley." He answered, letting out a defeated sigh as he took a seat on the couch.

"What?" Brooke asked, shocked as she took a seat beside Lucas.

"He asked her to go out and she agreed. He wants to fix things with her. Listen, Brooke, I know you're not Haley's biggest fan, but please just give her a chance if she's able to mend things with Nathan. She's really nice and-" He stopped once he was interrupted by Brooke.

"What are you talking about, I don't not like Haley."

"Brooke, come on, it's clear you haven't been getting along. Haley told me that you had an argument."

Brooke rolled her eyes before explaining herself, "It was just that, Lucas, an argument. She didn't like what I had to say because she was being a baby. She doesn't want to take any responsibility for her situation with Nathan right now and it's not fair."

"Why would she have to take any responsibility for anything? She didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Brooke began, "They didn't have to lose contact in the first place or in the least she didn't have to react so harshly when he did find out. She's being a bitch. I'm not saying that she didn't have a right to be hurt or mad, but it comes to a time where it's enough. Nathan's sorry, he can't change it and she has to move on."

"See, you don't like her. Which is fine, you can feel how you want, just for Nathan's sake."

"If she treats Nathan well and doesn't make him feel any worse about himself than we won't have a problem. I just think Nathan deserves a friend. Plus, I am already helping him try to win her back, so you can save it, I'm way ahead of you."

_+++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++_

Nathan slowly made his way back to his car that he parked along the docks. He felt bad about Haley having to make her own way back to her apartment by herself, especially at night, but he let her, not wanting to push her. He didn't think it would be a good idea to go over his limits. Plus, he needed sometime alone to himself anyway.

He never really knew Taylor, but neither did Haley. Taylor was the sibling that snuck out at night and wore too much makeup, especially considering she was only fourteen when he left. She was the one that Haley considerably liked the least- there was always a feeling of betrayal when Haley talked about her sister. Nathan knew Haley hated the fact that she could never really trust her sister, and that they never really got along.

Still, that didn't make her death hurt any less, for both Haley and Nathan. She was still there, still a part of his childhood and his old life.

As he made his way home he couldn't stop himself but thinking that that was the problem—his old life. It was old for a reason. He's far from who he was then and even though he may have liked where that Nathan was going better than where he is now, he couldn't change it and he didn't like being tied down and bounded to that Nathan. It was too much responsibility, and what he felt were, too many expectations. He wanted to be there for Haley, be a person who could be her best friend again, but if that meant being put up to the same expectations as eleven year old Nathan had then he didn't think he could do it.

"How'd your dinner go?" Lucas asked right as Nathan walked into the house, as Nathan sighed in response. He knew there was no way he was getting out of talking about it, but he still had a little hope.

"Fine." He answered shortly, though taking a seat next to Lucas on the couch anyway, facing the inevitable conversation.

"Did you know her sister died?" Nathan asked, getting straight to the point.

Lucas looked taken aback for a moment before redeeming himself and shaking his head slightly, "No, I had no idea. Is she alright?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah, she's fine. She died before Haley even came to Tree Hill. She wasn't the best sister in the first place, but she still lost her sister and now her parents are off too and she doesn't have anyone."

Lucas didn't respond at first, he just sat, taking in his brother's response. It's one of the first times since he first moved to Tree Hill that he saw Nathan look upset or desperate or vulnerable and not hide behind some façade. It also didn't go unnoticed by Lucas that the only times he's ever seen Nathan in such a state is when it had to do with Haley. He respected their relationship and admired his brother's ability to care so much about someone.

"She has you, Nate. And me and Jake. She'll get through it." Lucas offered, not completely sure how he should deal with his brother's current state, but trying anyway.

It seemed that Nathan immediately tensed up, realizing that he was looking vulnerable in front of his brother and tried to change the subject.

"What are you doing this weekend?"

Lucas frowned slightly at his brother's obvious attempt at changing the subject, but he went along with it anyway, "I don't know. What's going on?"

"Haley's birthday is next week. You should throw her a surprise party."

"_I_ should?" Lucas asked, confused at Nathan's suggestion. He didn't even know it was her birthday. Plus, it seemed like a good shot at redemption, he thought Nathan should be the one taking that bait.

"Yeah. You can throw it at the beach house and tell her that you want her to come over. Jake could even bring her or something."

"That's not exactly what I was confused about," Lucas murmured to himself as he watched his brother walk and grab a notebook from the bookshelf in their den.

Lucas continued to watch as his brother searched intently through the pages of the marble notebook. He had to stifle a laugh that he knew threatened to come out of his mouth. He looked like a child, being so excited and enthusiastic over the smallest of things.

"I already have everything planned out and set up- Brooke and Peyton helped me to organize it, you would just need to invite some people you think she may like to see there, lure her there and take the credit."

"Nathan, I don't know—," Lucas started, feeling bad about the plan. He thought that it was a great idea and a nice plan and didn't want to get all of the credit for it.

"Lucas, please. It would mean a lot to her, and to me. She has to know she has someone."

"She has you," Lucas started only to be interrupted by a rather desperate sounding Nathan, "Lucas, please."

Lucas sighed while running a hand over his face. Even though he still didn't feel completely sure about the situation, he knew that he would be unable to say no to him, "Alright, just give me the details."

Lucas couldn't help but reciprocate the smile that he saw creep onto Nathan's face once he agreed. He was genuinely glad that his brother was this happy—he was getting places and making progress.

_+++++She Paints Me Blue+++++_

Haley seriously considered ditching school the next day but decided against it. She would have to face Nathan again sometime and she knew that hiding in the meantime and falling behind on her school work would not help her situation.

She had a rough night, playing the details of their 'date' over in her mind. Haley quickly began to feel bad about the way she treated Nathan the night before. She knew that last night she was still angry at him because of him not recognizing her, but she knew she blew the rest way out of proportion. She was so upset and confused about Taylor and her parents and he was the only one there to yell at, so she blew up at him, which she knew truly was not fair.

Though, on the other hand, Haley still had a hard time with him forgetting her. She came to the conclusion that that is not simply because he couldn't recognize her, but because of what meaning came out of it. He didn't recognize her. Maybe it was subconsciously. Maybe he had had a better life in North Carolina without her; maybe he didn't want to remember her. She didn't realize how presumptuous and maybe even unfair she was being by thinking he would remember her and that he would drop everything to accept her. That was a different Nathan- of course he changed in five years, she knows that she certainly has. In the end, she just came to the conclusion that she was really messed up and had to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Hey Haley, you doing anything Friday?" Jake asked Haley during homeroom, seemingly breaking her out of some sort of daze.

He was excited about this party and figured it would be a good thing for Haley. He had learned about all of the stuff that she was going through and he wanted to help her out in any way that he could.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?" Haley asked quietly, clearly not being too keen on the conversation Jake was trying to make with her.

"I asked if you were doing anything on Friday. Are you alright? You seem kind of off." He said, picking up on Haley's hesitance.

Once she realized that she was acting slightly out of the normal, Haley plastered a smile on her face and shook her head no slightly, "Yeah, I'm fine. And no, I have nothing to do on Friday."

"Alright," Jake began hesitantly, not believing her, "That's great, because Lucas and I want to celebrate with you on Friday at Lucas' beach house."

"Celebrate?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah, it's your birthday next week, isn't it?" Jake asked with a smile, knowing that he wasn't wrong—his source was very reliable.

"Uh, yeah it is, but that's okay, we don't need to celebrate." Haley stated, trying to get herself out of it. She loved spending time with Jake and Lucas, but she didn't need them throwing her a mini party- it almost seemed pathetic to her.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Jake said, trying to convince her. This was the one thing that he had to successfully do for this surprise party and he was not going to let himself fail.

"Fine. What time should I-?"

"Great. I'll pick you up at seven." Jake said excitedly before walking away, leaving a questioning Haley behind.

…

Lucas sighed as he entered the beach house. He knew a gathering hosted by Nathan was going to have a lot of people that Haley didn't necessarily care about and a decent amount of alcohol, but he didn't think that it was just going to be just an average other high school party, with the only indication of it being anything otherwise is the banner, streamers and balloons in the house. No one seemed to notice though, or care, that they were supposed to be there for a specific event. Lucas thought there would have been at least people hiding behind couches and jumping out with a "surprise" but there was nothing. Haley was going to hate it.

He considered his options. Telling Haley not to come, tell her Dan decided to use the beach house tonight. Or maybe just send her to Jake's house instead and let the three of them hang out there. He didn't want to bring Haley here.

Lucas decided to make his opinions known once he found Nathan, "What the hell is this, man? She's going to hate this."

Nathan looked slightly taken aback at first. He was slowly allowing himself to get used to the fact that Haley was not only his now, and other people considered her too. Though, he quickly recovered, responding to Lucas' protests, "No she's not. I know her, Luke."

"Are you kidding me? I was only able to drag her to one party so far and she had a miserable time at that one." Lucas defended, crossing his arms as he accused his brother.

Nathan subconsciously shuddered at the mention of the party Haley was at in Tree Hill, though he was unsure if that shudder came about because of the events that happened on the beer pong table or the way he made her feel after.

"Well, this is different. This is a birthday party, now stop questioning me, Lucas, you're pissing me off."

"Fine," Lucas began, starting to grow mad himself, "Then you take the wrap for this party. I don't need her getting mad at me. Oh wait, is that what this is? Are you trying to sabotage my relationship with Haley?"

"Jesus, Lucas, what are you on? I'm not sabotaging you, she's going to love it. You're pathetic, man."

Lucas sighed in defeat as Nathan walked away to greet a few new party goers. He didn't know what his brother was up to, but he didn't want to ruin this night for him, or for Haley for that matter.

+++++++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue+++++++++++++_

"Jake, what the hell is this?" Haley questioned as she pulled up to the beach house with Jake.

The music was blasting from the house and you could hear it straight through the closed doors of his car. The guys from the basketball team carrying a keg into the front door didn't help either.

Jake looked panic momentarily, before opening his mouth to say something, willing something to come out, though it didn't prove to be sufficient. He didn't know what to say, he himself was surprised at the type of party that he was about to enter. Yeah, he knew it was Nathan throwing the party, but he still thought it would have had more class then it already appeared to have. It was, after all, for Haley.

"Dammit, Jake, are you kidding me? What the hell is this? I knew something was up once you refused to take Jenny with us."

"Uhh, I don't, I don't know, maybe... Hey, look, it's Peyton, you like Peyton, right?" Jake started, then finished once he spotted a certain pretty blonde girl who was headed their way. He was grateful for the distraction and for the chance that we would be able to get off the hook of convincing Haley to stay.

"No, Jake," She started, but was interrupted once Jake walked out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Haley then let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and muttered a curse under her breath before following suite and exiting the vehicle as well.

"Hey, Haley. They're telling me it's your birthday, so I guess I owe you a Happy Birthday." Peyton greeted the girl she had come to like over the past few weeks.

"Thanks." Haley retorted sharply, faking a smile, knowing that her annoyance was being placed incorrectly, but being unable to stop herself nonetheless.

Since Haley was told about the supposedly cozy gathering she was rather concerned and alert, and when she was told it would be taking place at the Scott beach house, well, that was just icing on the cake for her. She knew something was certainly up, considering that since she had been in Tree Hill there had not been a single weekend when there was not a party at the Scott residence. She didn't think that the kids of Tree Hill High would have been so considerate in giving up their party hall for one weekend. Haley had guessed correctly.

"Were you not expecting this?" Peyton asked, slightly uncomfortable and with a knowing look on her face.

Nothing inside the house was going to be welcoming to Haley, or anything that would scream surprise party, causing Peyton to be unsure if that that was what was truly going on. Yeah, there were pretty decorations, but wasn't Haley supposed to be the focus of the party, then? And since she knew she wouldn't be once they got inside, Peyton didn't necessarily consider it a surprise party, so she felt no reason to hide it.

"Let's just go inside. Lucas is waiting for you." Jake suggested, though all three people could hear the hesitance and uncertainty in his voice. He clearly didn't know what to do either.

Haley only nodded as she followed Jake and Peyton into the house. She hadn't really considered who was throwing her the party, and accordingly who she would be offending by not entering and appreciated it. If Lucas was the one throwing her the party, the best she could do by him and their friendship would be to but a happy game face on and look appreciative. She supposed that he didn't necessarily know her that well yet, and would let him off of the hook, though giving him a stern warning in school on Monday that he may never have the ability to reproduce if he did such a thing again.

Haley practically gagged on the alcohol that was oh so present in the air when she went through the doors of the beach house. There was an overabundance of partying teenagers in her path to the kitchen to search for Lucas and to thank him. Though, she was blockaded once she was spotted by a certain boy she had been avoiding for a while now.

"Hey, Haley, Happy Birthday." Nathan began, uncertain of how to approach her, not even sure if she would allow him the opportunity to approach her.

Haley offered Nathan a small, polite smile before responding to him, "Thanks. Have you seen Lucas, I uhh, I want to thank him for this." Haley finished, gesturing around the house, with an unconvincing voice, while the both of them exchanged faces, silently acknowledging Haley's true opinion of the party.

Nathan sighed, the true reason behind it unbeknownst to Haley at the current time. "Yeah, I think I saw him go somewhere with Brooke."

"Oh, okay, thanks." Haley said, smiling awkwardly before turning to leave.

"Haley, wait," Nathan interrupted her departure, "I'm sorry about the other night. I think we should talk. I want to talk."

"Yeah, I know we do, just not now, alright? I want to try and have a good time." Haley replied, turning and finally being able to slip into the crowd, leaving a tired Nathan behind.

Haley sighed in relief when she left her conversation with Nathan. She was always so tense whenever she saw him nowadays. It was sad to her, but the truth nonetheless.

She could only imagine where Brooke and Lucas went to, and shook her head when she was presented with images that she did not every want to see again. Although, she still continued her search for her friend, wanting to talk to him about the party, all the while hoping she wouldn't have to find him in a compromising position.

She once again let out a sigh in relief when she found Brooke leaning against the keg in the kitchen, talking to some girl that Haley recognized as cheerleaders. Although she wasn't necessarily on the best foot with Brooke, she still went to approach her, hoping she would be able to lead her to Lucas.

"Hey, Broo-"

"Haley! Hey, Happy Birthday! Do you want a drink?" A very drunk Brooke asked, temporarily forgetting her anger at the blonde, while cutting Haley off and gesturing to the keg.

While shaking her head 'no', Haley continued with the conversation, "Have you seen Lucas, I want to thank him?"

"Thank him," Brooke scoffed, "Why do you want to thank _Lucas_?"

"For throwing me this party." Haley explained, forcing herself to not roll her eyes at the very intoxicated girl standing in front of her.

"Well if you're looking to thank someone for this, then you're looking for the wrong Scott brother."

Haley scrunched her face is confusion before making it known, "What are you talking about?"

"Nathan was the one to throw you this party, I mean, it was all his idea. He has a whole notebook made up and everything, it was so cute!" Brooke explained, smiling at the end of her answer. Since she was forgetting that she wasn't exactly keen on Haley, her racing thoughts allowed herself to think of Nathan and Haley's relationship romantically, which was something she thought should be seriously considered.

"But Jake said it was Lucas' idea, he said that he did all of the planning and everything." Haley countered, while shaking her head in denial. Brooke was drunk, she didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, that's right!" Brooke started, throwing a hand over her mouth, "That part was supposed to be a secret, too. Nathan wanted Lucas to take all the credit for this at another pathetic attempt to make you like him again. Boo, I forgot I didn't like you." Brooke pouted, finally remembering her stance on Haley.

"Oh, I—"

"Hey, Haley, Happy Birthday. Do you like the party?" Lucas interrupted their conversation. He looked somewhere between concerned and confused. He knew very well that the two girls didn't particularly get along.

"You mean, do I like the alcohol infested high school party that's measly disguised with a couple of streamers? No, not really. But, you know, it's a good thing you don't have to worry about that considering it was all Nathan's idea."

Lucas winced when he realized his secret had been revealed and now he was in trouble with his friend. He feigned innocence, "I'm sorry about that, but it was all Nathan's idea, okay? He was desperate; I couldn't tell him that I wouldn't do it. He would have been crushed."

Haley sighed before replying, "I know, I'm sorry, I just… Never mind, just, have you seen him, Nathan?" Haley let out quietly. She was slightly thrown back right now.

"Yeah, I think I saw him go out back." Lucas answered, fighting a smile. He was genuinely happy that Haley was looking for him. He really wanted the two friends to become friends again.

_Flashback_

"TV is so ridiculous. High school parties are not that extreme." Haley commented with a roll of her eyes as the thought of it really sunk into her. A bunch of immature kids illegally drinking was not very appealing to the ten year old who was rather content to spend her Friday nights with the Scott's big, empty house, popcorn, a bad movie and her best friend.

"And how would you know? You've been to many?" Nathan asked with a sarcastic smirk, while plopping down onto the couch next to his best friend, with rocky road ice cream in hand.

"Ha, ha." His best friend retorted with a smile, taking a spoonful of the ice cream that was being extended to her.

Reveling in the taste of the ice cream and the familiarity of the situation she let out a satisfied smile.

"I mean, why would I ever want it to be different than this, you know? This is perfect; this is where I'm happiest. I don't think I'd ever want to waste a Friday at some party when I could spend it with you." Haley explained, watching as her best friend genuinely smiled at her comment.

"Well, who said I don't ever want to go to any of those big parties, James? Who says I'm not going to ditch this scene?" Nathan questioned teasingly. Yeah, he thought about high school, and of course he wanted to go to those parties, especially knowing that most of them would be for celebrating him and his basketball accomplishments but, in reality, he agreed with Haley. This would always be where he would be happiest. This is where he would always want to be, too.

"Oh, shut it, Nathan, you'd miss me too much." Haley teased back, though with a very slight sense of uncertainty in her voice.

Haley wasn't stupid, even at the age of ten, she knew what was going to happen in high school. She knew that Nathan would ever completely let her go or ditch her, but she knew it would be different. You'd have to be blind to say that Nathan had no talent playing basketball, and that was going to take him far in life, and far away from her in high school. She had no place in the scene that he was going into and it scared her to death on occasion.

"You're right," Nathan agreed, breaking Haley out of her thoughts, "But that's why we're going to go to parties together. Me and you, those high school parties will never know what hit them." Nathan smirked.

"Yeah, right," Haley laughed, "That's what's going to happen to me in high school, I'm going to become a crazy party girl."

"Hey, you're making this a joke, I'm completely serious." Nathan started, and then began to clarify once he saw that she was just dismissing his comments, "Haley, I'm serious. You just wait 'til high school, I'm going to throw you a birthday party like that. It'll be for your sweet sixteen."

"Then I'm not going." Haley countered.

"Oh, yes you are, you can't not go to a party someone throws for you." Nathan responded.

"I can do whatever I want. You better not throw me a party like that, or I will hate you for forever." Haley finished, yelling in a jokingly manner.

"Yeah, we'll see." Nathan muttered, sighing in defeat. Haley might have thought she won with the satisfied smirk that was plastered on his face, but she'll just have to see in six years.

_End Flashback_

After the conversation with Haley, Nathan wasn't much in the partying mood. It's not that the conversation went extraordinarily bad or anything, but it reminded him too much of the past. He remembers very clearly their first conversation about the high school parties, where he promised that he would throw her one for her sixteenth birthday. On that day, when he pictured the party, it was nothing like it was today.

For starters, Damien was supposed to be there. The annoying kid would have lured Haley to the household, with her being extremely reluctant because she obviously knew what was coming. It also would have really been her first high school party, not the second. And most importantly, she wouldn't be inside, talking to the brother that at that time he didn't even know he had—she definitely would have been enjoying it with him, after she got over the initial fury that he did indeed throw her an average high school party. But he didn't let himself think about the possibility that she may have even been kissing him at this party because something, by this point, would have happened between them. No, he wouldn't let those thoughts happen at all.

His thoughts led him outside, to the beach, where he took a seat on the sand. The party was too overwhelming at this point and he just needed some fresh air. So, he'd been on the beach, basking in self-pity for the last while.

"It's a nice night today." Nathan heard a small voice say, breaking him out of his thoughts. He instinctively smiled when he recognized the voice and felt the owner of it sit on the sand next to him.

"You're a year late, you know." Haley teased, with a slight smile, hoping that Nathan did through her this type of a party because of his promise from when they were ten, and not because he thought she would truly enjoy it.

He smiled at what she said, ecstatic that she remembered. "Seventeen's the new sixteen, right?" He teased back.

Haley laughed lightly, feeling relieved about Nathan's acknowledgement. The duo fell into a comfortable silence as both their thoughts took over. Haley didn't know what to make of the revelation. She didn't really expect Nathan to remember and to do it all for her. She especially didn't understand why he was hiding the fact from her. Why did he let Lucas take credit for the party? Maybe he wanted to keep his promise, but hoped that Haley wouldn't realize. She didn't know if he did it because he felt he owed it to himself or because he wanted to make Haley happy.

Haley came to the conclusion at this moment in time that she was no longer mad at Nathan. It was a mistake and she's over it. But the thing that still gets to her, the thing that she is still very unsure about is how Nathan feels. She really doesn't want to push him back into their friendship; she should never have come back to Tree Hill and forced such a decision on Nathan. She still couldn't get over the feel that she was forcing all of this on him and that he very easily could have been better off without her.

Haley started to feel overwhelmed, even more so when she remembered why she came here in the first place. She was unable to take it anymore, she needed someone to talk to and Nathan was the only person here at the moment. Haley didn't care if he wished to talk to her or not, she needed to talk to him.

"It just, it just hurts so badly, Nathan." Haley let out, quietly, barely breaking the silence that they were enveloped in.

Hearing her sad voice, Nathan looked up at her. It crushed him to see her like that, with the tears welling in her eyes and her voice being cracked. And it didn't help that he was still the one that was causing her to feel such a way.

"Haley, I know," Nathan started his apology desperately, "I'm sorry, I know I didn't remember you, but—"

"I mean, I was never her number one fan," Haley started, interrupting Nathan, realizing he had misunderstood her, "And she mine, but, you know, she's my sister. And then I get blamed. I think that's the part that gets me the most. They blame me, Nathan. They're mad at me and they couldn't handle me anymore. They say it's all my fault."

Nathan suddenly grew even sadder, though equally happy at the same time. Sad for Haley, and what she was going through; it pained him that anyone would hurt Haley intentionally, he knew that Haley deserved nothing but the best from everyone she came in contact with. Happiness for himself and their relationship; this was clearly some sort of breakthrough for them. She was being needy and vulnerable with him again. She was acting like he was her best friend.

"It's not your fault." Nathan responded in a small but strong voice, needing to convince her of what he was saying.

"Of course it is," Haley fought back, "They're my parents, and they practically disowned me now because of it. They wouldn't do that- wouldn't stop talking to me if there wasn't a reason for it."

"They're just upset, Haley. They're in denial and they're thinking irrationally. I promise you they'll come around, okay. You're amazing, Haley. It's not your fault Taylor died, its Taylor's."

At this point Haley had nothing else to say, and could only respond by launching herself into Nathan's arms and crying on his shoulders.

"I've missed you, Nathan. You always make me happy."

**A/N: IT'S DONE! I am so incredibly sorry that it took me so long. I am the worst person ever, I know, but this is the longest chapter yet, by more than one thousand words, so I hope that that helps in making up for it.**

**Please review, if you do you'll get a preview (once I start writing chapter 10)!**

**Thank you!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	10. An Oak Tree

**A/N: Alright, I'm done. It sucks that I don't update sooner, but I know by now that much is expected of me… sigh... And I know that most of you might even hate me more because I had an entire week off of school with no work to do and I spent it on another fanfic. Although, maybe I do get some slack because it was a Naley oneshot? Maybe? Please?**

**I also had super major writer's block. When I drafted this story, I stopped after eight chapters, figuring the rest would come to me once I got into the hang of it: It didn't. So, this chapter is kind of random, but we'll see how it goes. I do know of a plot twister that will come up again, but I figured let's just drag the story out and help Naley develop their relationship more, why not?**

**Also, I wanted to make a note that I just took the SATs and a couple of chapters ago, I began including SAT vocab words in these chapters and one of them was on the SATs and I totally remembered it because of that. Fanfiction helps you get into college, it's settled. **

**Disclaimer: Mark Schwan, people.**

_Although I'm hungry and I'm tired,_

_and all the bridges I made on the way are quickly turning into fires,_

_and as the embers are growing ,_

_and no phoenix emerge,_

_I guess another setback is another lesson learned._

_An Oak Tree- Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly._

_Flashback_

"Nathan, I know your house is always über creepy, whether it be because of your disturbed father or lack of parental authority, but this is just nuts." Eleven year old Haley yelled, slightly nervously, once she entered the Scott residence.

She'd never been keen on knocking at their door, though she wished that it had been a habit that she developed for that day. Like she said, she was never used to a loud and chaotic Scott house, but this was different. Although all of the furniture remained in the den that Haley entered, most decorations were gone. All of the false pictures that made them look like a loving family, the vases filled with pretty flowers—which were Haley's contribution to the décor—the various potpourri that once lined their walls and tables were all gone.

Haley began to panic in a thought that Deb was divorcing Dan and leaving Nathan for good. Not that she thought it was beyond Deb to do something like that, or that Nathan needed her in his life, but she didn't want that on him. She already wasn't there the majority of the time, and that was one thing, but to completely push all of Nathan's needs aside and to be that selfish—well, Haley just hated the woman more that she did before.

Finally, Haley realized that she needed an answer to her questions and that she accordingly hasn't received a response since she walked into the house. This caused Haley to panic slightly once again. It was Sunday, and Dan always went to his parent's house on Sundays, a place where Nathan always refused to go, hating his grandfather almost just as much as he hated his father. And Deb, well, she didn't really _know_ that Deb wasn't there, but she never was. And Sunday was the one day Nathan had without having to do anything and he always took advantage of that. There was no way that he would have gone anywhere else. Especially since Haley almost always barged in on his alone times on Sunday, he would have told her if he had something else planned.

"Nathan?" Haley called out again, although this time in a form of a question. She could hear her own concern for him ringing in her voice as she made her way out of the den and to the foot of the stairs, preparing to dash up into Nathan's room if she didn't get a response. Which she didn't.

"Nathan." Haley demanded, sternly, once she reached his door on the top floor of his house, while knocking loudly.

She heard a muffled noise come from his room and took it as an invitation to make her way inside. Once she did, she found Nathan laying on his bed, with his face buried deep into his pillow. She could tell that he was crying easily, though, since he was slightly shaking and, well, she just knew Nathan and could tell, especially when he was crying. Nathan crying was a sight that she'd seen way too often in her life, though it never got easier. Her heart broke every damn time.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Haley asked quietly, once she lay down beside him on the bed and pulled him into her arms.

"I'm going to miss you so much Haley." He said, shaking his head and then burying his head deeper into his pillow, as if to shut his mouth. It was a telltale sign that Nathan said something he shouldn't have, but that didn't stop Haley from questioning him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked carefully, squeezing him tighter subconsciously.

Nathan shook his head again and sat up, quickly wiping his face on his hands, "Nothing, I'm fine."

His response was short and harsh, a tone of voice that Haley had heard come from Nathan's mouth several times, though had never been of the receiving end of.

"Nathan, talk to me." Haley demanded, denying his comment and searching for the real answer.

"Haley, I said nothing is wrong, why don't you just leave me alone."

"Nathan…" Haley started but was unable to finish because of the newfound tears that were quickly pilling up and threatening to spill out of her eyes.

The way he spoke to her hurt her. Never in her life has Nathan not let her in. She was his best friend and she knew everything about him. Plus, Haley was the only thing that Nathan had. He obviously didn't have his parents and he was a rather shy kid who didn't speak up unless he was spoken to first, resulting in Haley being his sole friend. Well, and Damien, but Nathan didn't care for him much and he only really ever hung out with them because he had a pathetic crush on Haley. He was completely and utterly dependent upon Haley—she was all he knew. So the way he was treating her now—the pushing her out—bothered her and confused her. It was a foreign feeling and she knew how serious whatever happened had to be in order for Nathan to treat her like this.

Haley didn't know what else to say, so instead settled on staring at Nathan's back as he sat on the edge of his bed that Haley was sitting on, but facing the opposite way. She felt the tears begin to stain her face and shook her head in a silent effort to get him to stop with whatever front he was trying to play with and just tell her what was going on.

"You should go, Haley." Nathan finally said sternly.

Despite the slight quiver Haley heard in Nathan's voice with his plea, she respected it and left. Normally she would prod at Nathan to get him to tell her what was going on with him but all those other times he'd never acted like this. He'd never yell at her or tell her to leave, so at this point she was not only worried and hurt but angry too. She worked hard for their friendship, she did everything right and all she was doing right now was trying to talk to him and make him feel better—she was just being a good friend and he wasn't treating her properly in return.

Haley quickly got up, making a point of it to sigh loudly and left the door, stomping her way down his stairs but pausing just before she left the door when she the vacant house reminded her of her initial quest. Even if Nathan wasn't being the nicest friend right now, he was still her best friend that she loved and he was upset. Making her way back to the stairs, Haley yelled up, "You know where to find me when you want to stop being so stubborn. Everything will be fine, Nathan. I love you."

With that, Haley left the house, missing the loud sob that came from the top floor of the soon to be empty house.

_End Flashback_

"Come on Jenny, please stop crying, I promise Daddy will be here soon." Haley begged the crying infant that she was rocking in her arms.

Jake's parents were out of town for the weekend and he was urgently called into work at the last minute on Saturday and Haley quickly agreed to watch Jenny for the day. She had grown very fond of the baby in her arms but she couldn't wait for her friend to get home so she could get a break. She couldn't imagine what Jake went through, especially being a single parent, but he seemed to manage alright and Jenny was the cutest baby she had ever seen, so he was doing something right.

Haley let out a sigh of relief once she heard the sound of jingling keys at the door.

"Huh!" Haley faked a gasp to the baby she was holding, "Who's home?"

"Dada!" The little girl replied, immediately stopping her crying and smiling up at Haley, squirming in her arms and trying to get down so she could go greet her dad.

"Yeah, Dada's home!" Haley squealed back, making her way to the front door to open it for Jake.

Haley sighed in relief once Jake came in and took Jenny from her hands. She flung herself onto the couch and willed her body to relax. She faintly heard Jake laughing at her in the background, but she didn't pay any attention to him.

"So, what happened at the party last night? You kind of disappeared on us, we didn't even get a chance to sing Happy Birthday to you. You missed out on the cake."

"You ate my birthday cake without me?" Haley asked, making an obvious attempt at avoiding his question.

She didn't want this conversation to happen, but knew it was inevitable. Last night, after she let Nathan hug her for a while, she left, leaving with a small smile. She felt a change in their relationship last night, but she wasn't quite sure what it meant or where it left them. Were her and Nathan friends again? If they are, will it be just as they were five years ago, or will they have to start fresh? But still, she didn't even want to label them as friends yet. Haley is still unsure whether or not Nathan truly wants to rekindle their friendship, or if he's just talking to her right now out of guilt or pity. Haley didn't know how she was supposed to discuss what happened last night when her thoughts couldn't even seem to straighten themselves out.

"Yes, and it was delicious. Now tell me why you weren't there to eat it with us." Jake demanded, sitting on the floor and playing with Jenny.

"I don't know," Haley began, sitting up on the couch and shrugging, "Why did Lucas take credit for my party?"

"How did you know about that?" Jake asked, fully alert to their conversation now, and forgetting about his own interrogation.

"Brooke told me."

"She wasn't supposed to." Jake responded, unsure of how to have this conversation with Haley. All he knew himself was that it was Nathan's idea to throw the party, but he made Lucas take the credit instead. He couldn't really answer any of Haley's questions.

"I was outside with Nathan." Haley said quietly, finally answering Jake's question. She figured she owed it to him; he was such a great friend. Plus, she needed to talk about it with someone—maybe it would help her figure it out herself.

"What happened?" Jake interrogated, coming to full attention now.

"Nothing really. We talked." Haley answered, shrugging. She let out a defeated sigh once she looked at Jake and knew that she had to explain herself further.

"I don't know. I'm over it. I don't want to be mad at him anymore—I'm not mad at him anymore. That's all I know. Otherwise, I'm just confused. You know, I never considered the fact that he may not want to be my friend anymore. I came here assuming that he would love to have me back in his life, but what if he doesn't? I mean, he didn't remember me, Deb said he never talked about me. What if coming here was the best thing that happened to him? He was a shy kid in California, what if leaving me was what he needed to break through that and get to be this strong man that he appears to be today?

"I don't want to be the issue. He—he…" Haley ran off, not knowing how to continue. Her thoughts were leading her to Dan. Currently, Haley knew that basketball was a huge part of Nathan's life, and it always was, but Nathan's at the top of his game, the best in his school. Isn't that everything that he and Dan worked for? What if Dan was done riding him, done making him think that he is a lesser of a person than he is? And now, Dan's mad again because she's here. Nathan getting shit on by Dan again because she came back would be the last thing in the world that she wanted. But, of course, she couldn't tell that to Jake. She was in no position to do that.

"It's okay, Haley." Jake said, interrupting her thoughts, "I'm sure he wants you here. It's probably just been hard for him…"

Jake trailed off himself, not quite sure where to go from here. Even though he wanted to help her more than anything, he never really talked to Nathan much and he doesn't know about Nathan and Haley's relationship. He doesn't truly know what the case is and how it will turn out, so he can't provide much relief to Haley.

Haley shook her head in denial, but smiled at Jake's attempt. She knew he meant well and she understood his dilemma.

"Whatever it is, you just have to talk it out." Jake offered, "I do know that you'll never get any answers if you don't go looking for them."

++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_+++++++++

"Does somebody want to tell me why I drink?" Brooke mumbled as she dragged herself into the kitchen in the Scott's beach house, running right to the sink so that she could get some water to down the aspirin she stole from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

"Because you aren't any fun otherwise." Brooke jumped when she heard the voice reply. She hadn't seen Nathan sitting at his counter, eating a bowl of cereal when she stalked in just moments before.

"Godammit, Nathan you scared me to death." Brooke scolded, clutching her chest, then simultaneously bringing a hand to her head when she felt another strong wave of pain shoot to her head.

Nathan only laughed in response, watching as his friend suffered. She was the only one who managed to drink so much that she wasn't able to find her way home, though she wanted to leave. He heard last night from Lucas that Brooke got angry that neither Nathan nor Haley was there for the cake.

"I don't know what the hell you're laughing at. You might want to hold on to the friends you have because all the other ones just seem to be slipping away." Brooke snapped, finally swallowing the pills and sighing in relief.

"What the hell is your problem?" Nathan demanded, not appreciating her bitchy attitude. Sure, it was Brooke and he was used to it, but this was a little much, even for her.

Brooke shook her head, mumbling an apology, "Sorry. You're just an asshole and I feel like shit right now and it's all your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah, your fault. You are supposed to watch me at parties and make sure I don't drink too much or go into bedrooms with more than one guy, but you and your issue were MIA last night." Brooke sulked.

"Brooke, you should be able to control yourself by now. And my issue? What, is that supposed to be Haley?"

"Yeah, who else would it be?"

Brooke rolled her eyes, turning her back on Nathan and grabbing a box of cereal from the cupboard. She did not want to have another conversation with Haley, no matter who the conversation was with it always ended in a fight one way or another. Everyone, for some reason unbeknownst to Brooke, took a liking to her. She was tired of every conversation she had with Nathan, it would somehow lead to Haley. Since she came he'd been in a permanent slump, never completely forgetting that Haley was here and that he wasn't her friend. She understands how Nathan feels, but she doesn't understand why he can't let it go or move on, if only for one normal conversation with her.

"Could you not call Haley an issue? She's not a problem." Nathan scolded, returning to his cereal.

"She's not? Because you haven't been the Nathan I know ever since she came to Tree Hill." Brooke stated, accusingly.

"That's not true." Nathan mumbled unconvincingly to the both of them.

Of course he's changed, Nathan knows that, and he also doesn't think it's abnormal. He's retreating from the popularity and the parties. Ever since Haley's came, he's been doing his work—he was always an A student in California—, he's stopped being obnoxious to teachers, stopped picking on losers, completely stopped hooking up with random girls. He's been going back to the Nathan that he was in California, when Haley was all he knew. Although, not completely. He knew that he would never be able to be that boy again. Nathan making all these choices wasn't a conscious decision; it wasn't an act to try to get Haley to forgive him. She just brought out that side in him. He didn't want to disappoint her.

"Nathan—" Brooke started in rebuttal, but was interrupted.

"I know." Nathan said, "I know I've been different, but I just can't help it. She'd hate who I'd been, Brooke. I can't have her hating me."

"So you're going to change for her? Nathan, you can't do that. That's not fair to you or her. You can't develop a new relationship based on the past. If she wants a friendship with you, she's going to have to accept who you are now and vice versa." Brooke said, making her input on the situation known.

"It's not like that. She makes me better, Brooke. I don't want to do all those things I did anymore, I just want her to be my friend. I want to be the kid I was when I was eleven. I liked that boy, he could've been amazing right now."

"Nate, you are amazing right now." Brooke said, pulling him into a hug. She never had Nathan talk to her this much, especially about his past. Since Haley's came she's learned that Nathan did not have a good life in California, except for with Haley. But other than that, she only knew that he moved to Tree Hill when he was eleven because he had to move in with his half-brother. He never talked about his past and everyone was too afraid to ask.

"No, I'm not. Brooke, I used to have good grades, I used to treat people with respect, I used to be shy. I could've been more than just a popular basketball player right now, I could have been a decent person. But I'm not and I would be fine with that, I've been fine with that, but now Haley's back and it's different. What if she forgives me? What if she finally forgives me and she realizes that I'm not at all who I used to be and she can't even be my friend anymore? Brooke, I can't handle that. I need her, it would kill me."

Nathan stopped talking, pulling away from Brooke's embrace and looking the other way. He had never vocalized his fears to anyone besides Haley before, and that was one thing, but he could feel the tears burning in the back of his eyes and he was not about to let Brooke see him cry. Haley had been the only person ever to see him cry and he was not going to let Brooke see him in the same condition.

Brooke could tell that Nathan was getting upset, so she sat in the stool next to him and gave him a minute to collect himself before speaking up, "Did you start liking her as more than a friend before you left California or just since she's came to Tree Hill?"

Of course Brooke knew that Haley was pretty, and that Nathan was attracted to her. Before Nathan knew it was Haley, it was evident that he liked the girl as more than a friend. But Brooke's hooked up with Nathan a few years ago, and she knew he was hot and there was an obvious difference in the way that she feels for Nathan and the way that she sees Nathan feels for Haley.

"What?" Nathan asked, sincerely shocked. Did he say that he liked Haley as more than a friend? It was a pretty long rant, maybe it could have slipped out… No, no, he didn't say anything like that, because it wasn't true.

Well, that's what he'd been telling himself at least on many nights. During the day whenever he would see Haley or think about her, it was mostly concern about the present, occasionally good memories of the past, but at night, before bed, it was always thoughts about a possible brighter future. And those futures always included Haley as more than a friend.

"I think it started before I left." Nathan answered, not waiting for Brooke to ask her question again or accuse him in any other way. It was the truth, why should he hide it from Brooke? She obviously knew anyway.

Brooke was slightly taken aback, not expecting Nathan to be so honest with her, especially considering that he knew how she personally felt about his friend. Even though he wasn't Haley's biggest fan, she couldn't help but smile. In the past five years she'd never heard Nathan say that he liked someone.

"That long, huh?" Brooke questioned, still with a smile tugging on her lips.

"Yeah. She was my first kiss." Nathan added, smiling at the memory.

They were eleven and at Damien's twelfth birthday party, a little over a month before Nathan knew that he would leave. He got to invite about fifteen kids over, though only seven of the kids accepted. Nathan remembered he only accepted because Haley made him. Damien got his parents to leave them alone in his basement, and it was accordingly his brilliant idea to play spin the bottle.

Damien insisted that Haley spin first, praying that it would end up on him, but it conveniently and awkwardly landed on Nathan instead. The two crawled to meet in the middle of the circle, and kissed for ten seconds before pulling away, faces bright red, not talking and avoiding eye contact for the rest of the night.

The next day being a regular Sunday, Haley waltzed into his house and never mentioned the kiss, which Nathan went along with. If she wasn't going to mention it then neither was he. Nor would he mention the butterflies in his stomach that he'd never felt before and wouldn't mention again.

Brooke smiled before hugging Nathan again and looking him in the eyes, "Everything's going to be fine, Nathan, I promise."

Nathan smiled, watching Brooke leave. He hoped she was right.

+++++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_+++++++++++++++++

Brooke shook her head as she chickened out once again. She'd been standing in front of Haley's door for the last few minutes, continually putting her fist up to knock on the door and then pulling it away.

Ever since she left Nathan's an hour ago, she knew what she had to do. Nathan was clearly serious about his relationships with Haley—about making sure she forgave him and welcomed him back into her life as her friend, and eventually, potentially as more. Brooke could easily see that this was important to Nathan and she wanted him to be happy, and she wanted him to get what she wanted and Brooke figured that her hating Haley wasn't helping anyone and if she wanted to she could probably even help them.

Brooke didn't get a chance to completely chicken out once Haley opened her front door. She jumped back slightly, clearly unaware that there was anyone waiting at her door. Brooke sent a nervous smile in Haley's direction before opening her mouth, "Hi. Uh, sorry to come here like this, I was just hoping that we could talk."

"Uh, okay, sure." Haley answered hesitantly. "Just let me take this to the bin, you can go inside." Haley explained, gesturing to the garbage bag in her hand.

Brooke only nodded and entered the small apartment once the girl left. She took no time in making herself feel at home. She threw off her jacket and draped it across the back of the worn out couch before looking around. Brooke smiled once she saw a picture of what was clearly and young Haley and Nathan. This just might be easier than she thought it was going to be.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Brooke heard Haley ask uneasily as she closed the front door and leaned against it. She was visibly uncomfortable with Brooke being in her apartment.

Brooke sighed, never being one for apologies. She wasn't that person. She did what she did and if you didn't like it then it wasn't any of her concern, but she knew that this situation was different. She had to swallow her pride for Nathan's sake.

"I wanted to apologize." Brooke answered, finally turning to face the blonde girl. Brooke was still currently in front of the picture of Nathan and Haley, which was on the other side of the room from the door which Haley still leaned against.

Brooke watched as Haley's face crinkled in confusion, alerting her that she needed to further elaborate. She gestured to the picture with her thumb before speaking up, "You're really important to him, you know that?"

Haley didn't know what to do. One second she was home alone, doing some housecleaning and the next Brooke is in her house. She knew that Brooke didn't like her very much and she was the last person that she expected to see at her doorstep.

"Uh, yeah." Haley responded, watching as Brooke moved across the room and took a seat on her couch, looking at her, waiting for her to join. Haley reluctantly pushed off of the door and went to join her.

"I'm sorry I've been a bitch." Brooke said simply and bluntly.

"You haven't been a bitch." Haley countered, uncertain of what to do. Brooke had been a bitch to her, but she didn't really know Brooke. She hadn't been offended by Brooke's actions, she appreciated him—she was protecting Nathan.

Brooke laughed out loud at Haley's response, causing Haley to laugh as well. They were both happy for the slight easing of tensions in the room.

"Please, I'm always a bitch, I'm just never apologizing for it. I've just been a bitch because I didn't like the way Nathan had been acting since you got here. He's hurting Haley, and even though it's his fault, it's because of you. I don't like seeing him upset." Brooke explained.

"I appreciate that. You taking care of Nathan, I mean. I know he's been hurting, but I couldn't do anything about it because I was hurting too. I'm glad that you were there for him, defending him, telling him that it wasn't his fault." Haley countered.

Brooke smiled genuinely at the girl. She underestimated her. She'd hated her because she hurt Nathan and she made everyone else care for her. She didn't like that she was so easily able to mess up their world, but she never really spoke to the girl otherwise. It was clear how much she loved Nathan now. She would still support Nathan completely, but she understood what Haley went through and she thought that she might not be that bad of a person in the future. That just made Brooke's mission even easier. She looked forward to getting to know Haley once she was able to mend her and Nathan's friendship and shape them into something more.

"He's sorry, you know that, right?" Brooke questioned.

"About not remembering me?" Haley asked, her voice cracking slightly. Even though she was over that, it still hurt. She watched as Brooke nodded hesitantly before continuing.

"Yeah, I know that. I've pretty much forgiven him for that. We talked at my party a little. I think we're making progress, but there's still other stuff, you know?" Haley replied sadly, avoiding eye contact with Brooke. She was cautious, she knew that Brooke was probably going to go right off and tell Nathan about their conversation and she'd rather have it with Nathan directly.

Brooke's eyebrows raised in surprise. She didn't know that she and Nathan spoke during her party, or that she forgave him. She had to give the girl even more credit now.

"Alright then, I guess my work here is done." Brooke said, standing up and moving to the door before stopping and turning back, "Oh right, Nathan wanted to meet up with you tonight. I'll tell him that you'll meet him by the docks at seven."

Brooke slammed the door shut, not giving Haley a chance to reply before pulling out her cell phone and hastily dialing Nathan's number while running out of Haley's apartment, "Hey, Nate, you're meeting Haley at the docks tonight at seven."

+++++++++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_+++++++++++++++++

Haley was surprised when she found herself walking towards the docks with a genuine smile on her face. Once Brooke demanded that she go to the docks tonight to meet up a Nathan without waiting for a reply, she was excited. For the first time since she'd been to Tree Hill she truly wanted to see Nathan and spend time with him. She knew they still had ways to go—there was much to be mended and there were still so many questions unanswered, but she was finally anxious to get there. She needed Nathan back in her life and the sooner that she was able to do that, the better.

She took a seat at one of the benches that aligned the edge of the docks as she waited for Nathan to get there. Haley could feel herself growing a little nervous that Nathan wasn't there yet. She hoped that her entire conversation with Brooke wasn't some sort of cruel joke and that Nathan did in fact know that Haley thought he was going to shop up and that he did.

Though, her concerns quickly left her once she saw Nathan approaching her. She smiled, feeling her heart rate increase as he reached her and smiled softly. Neither was exactly sure of what to do, but Haley took the initiative and stood up and pulled him into a hug. She let out a breath once she felt Nathan reciprocating the hug. She missed the comfort she always got from him. She never wanted to let go.

They both pulled back reluctantly and sat on one of the benches that was connected to a table.

"Hey." Nathan finally spoke up, unsure of what to say.

He was surprised, to say the least, when Brooke called him up, telling him that he was meeting up with Haley that night. Sure, he was happy. He loved spending time with Haley, but he was concerned about what the hell Brooke did to make that happen. Why was she even speaking to Haley? None of those questions she answered, of course, being the bitchy, stubborn Brooke that she was.

"Hey." Haley smiled back. She could feel the awkwardness in the air and pointed to a stationary ice cream truck that was parked just a few feet away before speaking up again, "Let's get ice cream, I'm starved."

"It's seven. Do you want to get real food first?"

Haley frowned, "Ice cream is real food. If you want to be Mr. Responsible Pants then go ahead and get real food, but I'm going to get rocky road and mint chocolate chip ice cream and if you're not done eating you're dinner of substance before the ice cream starts melting, then I'm afraid you won't be getting any at all."

Nathan smiled at Haley as he watched her stand and make her way to the ice cream truck. This is the first time he's seen a side of her that wasn't hesitant and cautious around him. She was acting like the Haley he'd always loved.

He was broken out of his thoughts of Haley when he realized that she was back with two ice creams in hand, just like she said she would be.

"Dude, you might want to hurry up with that real food, because you of all people should know that I don't joke about ice cream." Haley stated seriously though with a smile on her face.

Nathan only laughed and pulled the rocky road ice cream out of her hand, knowing it was for him, "Screw real food."

Haley laughed satisfactorily when Nathan began eating his ice cream cone. She sighed, looking out at the ocean. She wishes that they could be completely at this point right now, but they weren't. No matter how good of a time she was seemingly having, there was still a nagging voice in the back of her head, telling her all the questions she still needed to ask Nathan. There were still so many things they needed to go through and she couldn't seem to just enjoy the moments they were having, no matter how badly she wanted them to.

"What?" Nathan asked sadly. He could easily pick up on Haley's change in demeanor. As much as he wanted them to just have a nice night, he knew they needed to talk and now seemed as good as a time as ever.

"I just, I just don't understand." Haley started, finally looking in his eyes.

"What?" Nathan asked, though he knew what she was asking about.

Nathan was hurt when he was told that he was leaving to North Carolina from California. No, he wasn't hurt, he was devastated. No, there wasn't a word that satisfied Nathan that could properly demonstrate how hurt and sad and scared and disappointed he was to be leaving. Haley was all he had and he knew that. The second he was told that he had to leave, he pushed her out. He was mad and projected it to her. Well, not fully. Yes, he was a complete asshole to Haley but he justified it.

"Nathan you didn't tell me you were leaving. I had to show up to your empty house. How could you do that to me?" Haley asked, crying, unsure of how she was able to speak at all. All the pain she felt as an eleven year old standing in a completely vacant Scott house was coming back to her. She hadn't allowed herself to think about that since she first got over it. Now, it was killing her. Especially since Nathan was the one she was talking about it with.

"I know, Haley. It was a stupid decision, I know. But I left you a note, and I called you hundreds of times, but you never picked up. I wanted to stay goodbye to you, I just couldn't do it in person. And I know, I know that's no excuse, but I just couldn't handle it at all. I was moving across the country, in my mind I was never going to see you again, and you were all I ever had Haley, you were all I ever knew and I just couldn't tell you because I couldn't have to work through it with me, I was going to lose you so soon. I needed to learn how to deal with things like that on my own. I'm sorry, Haley." Nathan explained, crying himself.

He barely registered that he was in a public place and that anyone could see him right now. It simply didn't matter to him. He was with Haley, his best friend, the only person he was ever able to talk to and cry with and getting her to understand was the only thing Nathan cared about.

Haley pulled Nathan's head down to her chest, hugging him tightly. She was hurt, but she wasn't mad. Eleven year old Nathan should have talked to her, but sixteen year old Nathan didn't deserve the blame.

"Why'd you come here, Nathan? Since when did you have a brother? I just don't understand." Haley asked, unable to stop herself.

Nathan nodded, pulling back from Haley's embrace. She didn't look angry and he smiled at her, wiping his face with his hands.

"Dan slept with Karen, Lucas' mom, on a 'business trip'. That's why my mom was never home, Haley. She hated him, but a few days after she found out Dan knocked up some girl when he was cheating, she found out she was pregnant and she couldn't leave him. So all these years, I'd had a brother across the country. Dan sent money, but that was it. He never wanted me to find out about Lucas, but he didn't have a choice once Karen died in a car accident. Lucas didn't have anyone to watch after him and my mom decided that it would be best for Lucas if we all went there. It would be easier for Lucas if he got to stay in his home. Can you believe that Haley? The first time she cares for a kid she's not even his."

"Nathan…" Haley said, desperately.

She had never felt so bad in her entire life. Not when Nathan left without saying goodbye, not when Taylor died, not when her parents ditched her, not when Nathan couldn't recognize her. All of those things hurt her, but all of these things hurt Nathan. It killed her that Nathan went through all of these things by himself. She wasn't the only one who benefited from their relationship—he needed her too and all those times, even though it wasn't necessarily her fault, he didn't have her, he didn't have anybody when he was going through all of this.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you Nathan." Haley said, sadly, holding her hand on Nathan's face, wanting to provide him with as much comfort as he needed.

"It's okay. You're here now." Nathan promised, opening his eyes that closed at Haley's touch.

His breath hitched when he noticed how close they'd gotten. His eyes subconsciously looked at her lips, only to see her biting her bottom lip, causing Nathan to silently groan. He became aware of her hand making its way from the side of his face to the back of his neck, pulling him in closer to her.

Nathan watched as she closed her eyes, unsure of why his lips weren't on hers yet, when he heard someone clearing their throat. Not that he cared or planned to stop, but Haley had other ideas and quickly pulled away, sliding down the bench, creating space between them.

"Hmm, looks like your friendship's fixed." Nathan looked up to see Rachel smirking before leaving.

He rolled his eyes, seriously never hating the girl more than he did then. He wasn't interested in her, why couldn't she take a hint and move on with her life. But he knew she got what he wanted when he looked up at Haley and saw her face bright red, looking anywhere but at him—she ruined their moment.

"Haley…" Nathan started, stopping once Haley looked up at him and smiled uncertainly.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked quickly, standing up once Nathan nodded. "Alright, then I'm going to go. I have a lot of stuff to do, I didn't know you wanted to meet up today."

Nathan just continued to nod, upset with Rachel and Haley's insecurities.

"If you need anything Nathan, you can call me. I'm always there for you. I love you." Haley hesitated before leaning down and kissing him on the cheek, then walking off back to her apartment, leaving a smiling Nathan behind.

**A/N: I am the worst. The absolute worst. But you all know that anyway, so I won't talk about it. I am really upset, though since I wanted it up before Friday, but I guess I'm somewhat close? **

**I also just wanted to let you know that I have crazy amounts of stuff coming up. The SATs next Saturday, the ACTs the week after that, six finals and huge projects, all ending on June 20th, so I probably won't even start writing it until after that. But, like I said, that's nothing new to any of you because I don't update ever anyway.**

**I am really sorry for the grammatical errors that I know are in this chapter but I really wanted to get it up and didn't read it over.**

**Please review! Oh, and I hope some of you enjoyed the Naley marathon on SOAPnet today!**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	11. Light A Roman Candle With Me

**A/N: I don't know what to say. My original author's note contained a grievance because at the time I started writing this chapter I was going through a phase of not having interest in OTH anymore, but, don't worry, after a few good season 1 and 3 episodes and another, newly discovered FanFiction story, I left that phase. It's been seven long months since I've updated and now I'm writing on borrowed time because whose going to still care about a story that they haven't heard from in a while? The time I have is running out and I'm working hard to get this up by 2013. Wish me luck and any support is thoroughly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: One Tree Hill belongs to Mark Schwan and the CW. I am not Mark Schwan or the CW.**

_So often I call and I plead with you_

"_Give me a chance!"_

_It's not that often that I understand_

_The ins and the outs of what's wrong and what's right_

_So don't think of tomorrow night_

_Light a Roman Candle with Me—fun. _

Nathan grunted as he made his way up the path to the huge white house with the big red door. After his, whatever it was, with Haley last night, he was tired of Brooke intervening and he had every intention of giving her a piece of his mind.

In reality, Nathan knew it wasn't Brooke's fault. He had done wrong with the gods, disappointed his younger self and now he was getting punished for it. He knew that no matter who instigated any sort of meeting he would have with Haley, it would automatically be doomed from the start. But it was easier to just blame Brooke.

Clearly, he wasn't particularly happy with how the night played out. In the beginning it was amazing, felt just like it should have, if they happened to be the same people they were when they were kids. But it went downhill after that. Of course they had to talk, had more things that they had to fight for and work through, but then they almost kissed. And then, as if a scene straight from a chick flick, the worst possible person showed up at the worst possible time.

What made it all worse was that Haley sprinted after that. They didn't get a chance to talk about it; will it be awkward the next time he sees her? Will they both just pretend like it never happened? Will she lunge herself on top of him and both finally get what they want?

Nathan was conflicted in which option he wanted to go down. Okay, not really, but of the two practical options he didn't know which was better. They keep having those deep, connecting moments, but they always somehow seem to get ruined. He knows that they're going to have to face it sometime, but isn't sure if it's something they should work on now or wait for their friendship to be fixed first before they discuss. Either way, Nathan decided that he'll let Haley take the initiative.

Out of routine, Nathan pushes the red door open before knocking and finds Brooke in what appears to be a heated conversation with Rachel. Nathan sighed; he just can't get the hell away from her no matter how hard he tries.

When they hear someone walking into the house, though, and notice another presence, they both look up, expressions softening slightly. Nathan, on the other hand, only looks confused. He is well aware that Brooke is not too fond of Rachel and doesn't know why the hell she is at Brooke's house, especially so early in the morning. The devil gets up before noon?

"Hey, Nate, how'd your date go last night?" Rachel is the first to speak up, asking in a mocking tone, knowing exactly how "well" it ended.

This made Brooke roll her eyes, clear fury etched across her face. It was easy to tell the two had been previously engaged in a conversation about just that.

"Great." Nathan answered, genuinely. Of course he knew that she was there to see it end, but that didn't have to mean it wasn't very successful during other times.

Nathan sighed when he saw Brooke's hopeful gaze at his response. He didn't want to lead her on and lie to her, but he was not about to go about it in front of Rachel.

"Really? Because from my position, it looked like your pathetic _friend_ tried to throw herself on top of you and you ended up pushing her away instead. And then I saw her run, it must have been mortifying being rejected by the boy your helplessly obsessing over, of course, not that I would really know." Rachel retorted with a smile.

Nathan rolled his eyes, considering completely ignoring her, but instinctually standing up for Haley instead, "That's not what happened Rachel, and you know it. I don't know why you can't just mind your own damn business."

"You guys kissed?" Brooke asked, thoroughly interested. Even though she hated the red-headed bitch standing next to her, she seemed to be good for something.

"No," Rachel started, answering the question for Nathan. "Holly tried to maul at him, but Nathan realized and pushed her away before she could."

This time, Nathan did completely ignore her and answered Brooke, "No. We were interrupted."

Nathan watched as Brooke's eyes doubled in size and nearly popped out of her head, "But you were going to kiss?"

Nathan shrugged, feeling uncomfortable talking about it, especially right in front of Rachel. He only came here to yell at Brooke, he didn't expect this at all.

"How did that happen?" Brooke asked loudly, moving to stand in front of Nathan, now that he turned away from her, obviously trying to avoid this conversation.

Brooke considered only momentarily Nathan's feelings, since he clearly didn't want to talk about it, but went onto questioning him anyway. Ever since her conversation with Haley, and Nathan admitting to her that he had more than platonic feelings for the girl, she jumped right on board with team Naley. A near kiss, as established friends again, was a big deal.

"It just did." Nathan answered shortly, really wishing that Rachel wasn't still in the room for this conversation.

Nathan knew that anything he would say in the presence of Rachel would be used in the worst possible way against him and especially Haley.

Brooke sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to get anything further out of him. He could be just as stubborn as she is.

"Is that really how last night ended? Did you almost kiss and Haley left?" Brooke asked, much more softly this time.

Nathan only nodded slightly and sadly. He hated how it ended last night and he really wanted to see her again. To try again. He knew that he and Haley deserved that much. Time together, whether that time be spent talking about the past, talking about the present, just enjoying each other's company, or whatever else they could do, Nathan felt was vital at the time. Plus, he just really wanted it. He just wanted to be with Haley, in her presence, and most importantly without being interrupted. He wanted to get out of Tree Hill with her, so it could seemingly, for a moment, just be him and Haley against the world, just like it always was, and as far as Nathan's concerned, always will be.

"I'm going to go." Nathan said, louder than he's spoken since he's gotten to Brooke's house and more determinedly as well. His mind was set. He and Haley were going to have that alone time together, he would make her.

"Nathan—" Brooke started, only to be interrupted by Nathan.

"I'll see you later, Brooke." He finished, getting up from his seat and heading to the door, completely ignoring the other person still in the tension filled house.

Although, he was still in the distance of the front door to Brooke's house to smirk at a very loud and anger filled request on Brooke's part, "Get out bitch."

++++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_++++++++++++++

Nathan couldn't seem to wipe the smirk off of his face the entire walk home from Brooke's house. There was a small voice in his head telling him that he wasn't even completely certain that Haley could indeed go out with him today, but that voice was quickly silenced by the hope he felt at a potential conversation and time out with Haley. He really just wanted everything to be fixed already.

His smirk even stayed on his face as he entered the completely empty house. Even though it was something that he was completely accustomed to, seeing as it was how it has been his entire life, he still managed to get upset whenever he entered his vacant house. It was always a reminder of how damn broken his family and life were. But this time it didn't bother him, because in moments, the unbearable silence would be filled with his beaming voice talking to Haley over the phone.

He ran up to his room and quickly dialed Haley's number as he began to rummage through his closet for something to wear. He didn't really have any plans for this outing—he just wanted to drive and get the hell out of Tree Hill, there was no destination in mind, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to look nice for her still.

If possible, his smile grew even larger when he heard the phone stop ringing and he heard Haley pick up. They exchanged greetings, and Nathan ignored the uneasiness he heard in her voice while talking to him.

"So, what are you doing today?" Nathan asked in a voice that was too hopeful and eager to even his own ears, but he didn't care too much. Maybe it would further motivate her to agree to go out with him today.

There was a silence on the line as Nathan felt his nerves cause an increase in his heart rate as he waited for her reply. He tried to ignore the loud breath she let out, clearly showing that she wasn't sure, but it was getting hard to ignore all the signs. He really didn't want it to be like this for them—he wanted them to just be able to hang out, or in the very least have a phone conversation without things being weird for them.

He was about to open his mouth to say something that would hopefully be encouraging, but she beat him to it, "What did you have in mind?"

Nathan smiled at the slight implication that she would do something with him and answered, "I was just thinking about driving around. Hopefully, getting the hell out of Tree Hill. I just want to hang out Haley, without any outside influences or any annoying interruptions."

He could have sworn he heard her gulp, and it took him a minute to figure out that it was most likely because of what he said about their interruption. He didn't mean it like that, like he was upset their near kiss was interrupted—not that that wasn't true but that's beside the point—he just meant that it would be nice to not have any sort of person ruin anything that they might be doing or discussing. He ran a hand down his face. He was always messing something up.

"I didn't mean—" Nathan started, only to be interrupted by a fast talking Haley, most likely not wanting to hear what he was going to say.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great." Haley responded, in what was obviously a strained and uncertain voice. Nonetheless, Nathan smiled genuinely, he was beyond thrilled that he would have another uninterrupted chance with Haley today, even if she didn't seem to necessarily feel the same way.

"Awesome. Will you be ready in a half an hour?" Nathan asked, still rummaging through his closet.

"Uh, yeah, that sounds good." Nathan could very clearly picturing her biting her bottom lip.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Nathan said excitedly into the phone before he hung up, jumping up to find something to wear.

The smirk was once again plastered on his face and Nathan was hopeful that it wasn't going anywhere. He quickly found an outfit to match it and pulled it on, running downstairs to get a few things he felt they might need for their day, but he was interrupted by a baby's laughter from the den.

"Where are you going, Nate?" He heard Lucas ask him as he began putting on his shoes and looking around for his keys.

Nathan looked up, smiled at the baby, nodded in acknowledgement to Jake, and finally replied to Lucas, "Out."

When Nathan first moved to Tree Hill he and Lucas didn't get along. Nathan hated him and resented him for ruining his family, moving him across the country, and mostly taking him away from Haley. Nathan wanted nothing to do with him or the new Scott family, but eventually he got over it. Nathan realized it wasn't Lucas' fault and he actually wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he was the only one in his family that he could tolerate, but that doesn't mean he still didn't annoy the hell out of Nathan from time to time, like right now. Lucas never could mind his own damn business.

"How did last night go?" Lucas asked when he didn't get anything more out of Nathan. "Brooke told me you kissed."

"You and Haley kissed?" Jake chimed into the conversation, shocked. He knew that they were starting to patch things up, but he never considered that they'd be anything more than friends, at least not this suddenly.

"Well Brooke doesn't know when to shut her mouth and mind her own damn business." Nathan started, annoyed at Brooke's gossipy and meddling ways once again.

"And no, we didn't kiss." Nathan finished, taking one look at the boys' faces. Jesus, they were worse than Brooke. Why were people always so damn curious about his and Haley's relationship, whatever state it may be in?

"Are you going to see her right now?" Jake asked, aware that when he invited Haley to hang out with him and Lucas just a couple minutes ago she said that she was busy.

Nathan sighed dejectedly. He was so happy that Haley agreed to get the hell out of Tree Hill with him today. "Yeah."

"Are you sure you guys are just friends? Because…"

"I don't give a fuck what Brooke said, you should really stop listening to her. I didn't tell her anything. And Haley and I are just friends." Nathan gritted out, now not only angry that people were constantly nagging him, but also annoyed that Brooke told his secret. He didn't want to be so childish, but Lucas, and especially Jake, are Haley's good friends, and he doesn't need rumors, however true they may be, getting around to her. Their friendship did not need another strain.

Lucas and Jake both smiled to each other at Nathan's outburst, before Lucas replied. "Brooke didn't say anything to me. You've just been spending a lot of time alone with her."

Nathan cursed under his breath and ran a hand over his face. He must look ridiculous, and he really just wanted to get out of there.

"Whatever," He started in response, picking up his keys and running to the door, "I'll be back later."

"Tell Haley I say 'hi'!" Was the last thing Nathan heard before slamming the door, hopping in his car and driving to Haley's apartment.

_+++++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++++_

Nathan sat nervously in his car for what felt like hours before he finally got the courage to go to Haley's door. He wasn't sure why exactly he was nervous, nor did he want to feel nervous, but he couldn't help it. He just wanted to make sure that for this one day, this one moment, nothing would go wrong. However, knowing his life like he did, he found the likelihood of that situation very slim.

He sighed and took one last deep breath before finally getting out of his car. Haley was expecting him, after all, and he'd done enough messing up with her in the last month to last him a lifetime.

He approached her door and knocked twice before patiently waiting for her to come. He still didn't have plans for them today, but hoped all would work out anyway.

"Hey." Nathan was broken out of his thoughts when the door swung open and Haley was standing in front of him, smiling.

He was happy and let out a sigh of relief, followed by a shaky smile. He was nervous all over again, even more so because she didn't appear to be. Of course, he was relieved that Haley wasn't miserable, and possibly even excited, about going out with him, but he didn't anticipate it.

"Hey." Nathan smiled back, eventually pulling it together slightly.

Haley's smile faltered slightly as she picked up on Nathan's hesitance. Was he not expecting her to agree to this outing today? Was he just trying to be nice? Did he really not want to be going out with her today?

"You know," Haley began, with a shaky voice, "If, if you changed your mind, or whatever, we don't have to go out today…"

"Wh-what?" Nathan was taken aback. Was she just canceling on him right now? He really wanted to work this out today.

"I mean, if you don't want to go out anymore, it's fine." Haley explained, trying desperately to keep the sadness out of her voice.

Of course, when Nathan originally called her, she was hesitant about going with him today. After the events last time they were alone together, acting as friends, she didn't know how it was going to be with him, but after he called and she agreed, she became excited. She did, after all, want to finally make amends and fix their relationship so that everything could go back to normal, and if he initiated it, then that must mean that he wants to do that do. Although, after seeing him at her door, Haley wasn't too sure of Nathan's true feelings.

"No, of course I do. I mean, if you don't then…" Nathan began.

"No, I do, it's just… Never mind, I'll just get my bag and we can go." Haley interrupted.

She took a deep breath and didn't wait for Nathan to reply, nor did she invite him in, and left to go get her bag. Internally, she told herself to calm down. This is Nathan and despite previous belief, they do know each other, and deep down, Haley truly knows that he wants them to be friends too.

She made it back to the door with her bag and smiled at Nathan, hoping for one last indication that this day wouldn't be a mistake, and found a smile in return, to her relief.

++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_+++++++++++

"So, where are you taking me?" Haley asked after moments of silence.

After Haley locked up her apartment, the pair made their way to Nathan's car in silence. The only words that have been exchanged since they left the apartment were Haley saying 'Thank You' to Nathan when he opened up the passenger side door for her to go in.

Although, it wasn't as awkward as either would have imagined. In fact, it was surprisingly comfortable and familiar, much to the relief of them both. It was nice for each of them to once again feel the sense of peace that they once held with each other. A peace neither of them have felt since they were eleven.

They'd been driving in this peaceful silence for about ten minutes and Haley posed her question out of raw curiosity. She didn't ask out of the need to make conversation, only because she just realized that he never filled her in on that piece of information.

Nathan shrugged, slightly embarrassed that he didn't have an answer for her. It seemed desperate to him—to ask her to go out with him and then not have a plan. It showed that he only wanted to be with her and that he didn't care at all about what they would do, as long as they were together. Not that that wasn't the truth, Nathan was just worried about how Haley would feel about that. Even though things seemed comfortable right now, he knew at any moment something could happen and change the atmosphere back to being uncomfortable, just like last night, and he didn't want to be the one that made Haley feel that way.

"I don't know. I didn't really think about it that much. Do you have any ideas?" He asked, hesitantly.

Haley laughed lightly at his hesitance. She could tell that he was trying to make sure that she was happy and she appreciated that.

"We could go to school." Haley suggests, and laughs when Nathan's eyebrow rises, questioningly, "I mean, that's about the only place I know where to go, seeing as I've been in Tree Hill for a month."

Haley laughed wholeheartedly when she watched Nathan's face flush slightly. It's been a long time since she's seen this overly sensitive side of Nathan and she liked that despite the years, the other parts of him still seemed to be there—buried, but there nonetheless.

In more present day Nathan ways, he shrugged it off and began to laugh himself, "What? I thought it was a serious suggestion. You were always such a loser when it came to school. Hey, Haley, do you still go to school an hour early just in case one of your teachers is there and wants to give you a private lesson so you can get ahead?"

It was Haley's turn to blush. She always loved school. She was always pretty smart and did well in all of her classes—Nathan had the basketball court as his place to shine, and she had school. Even though Nathan used to be a decent student in California as well, he still always teased her for it. Especially, as he said, when she would make sure she woke up and got to school well before she needed to, so that she made sure she was always on time, and was able to get some extra, peaceful time to study. And yes, if a teacher also so happened to arrive to school a little early, what would be the harm in trying to get ahead on the lesson?

Nathan laughed as Haley shoved Nathan's arm lightly, "Shut, up, that was six years ago. And, if I remember correctly, you were never too far behind me, so you're not really one to talk."

"Whatever." Nathan laughed, remembering the days in California when he wasn't the one going to a tutor, but the one offering the tutoring instead.

"What, is this Nathan Scott too cool for good grades?" Haley asked, teasingly.

She knew of his reputation in Tree Hill—that here, he turned more into a Damien type person minus the arrogance and obnoxiousness, well at least when it came to her. She had heard of the infamous Nathan Scott attitude. She has heard that Nathan has, unexaggeratedly, slept with at least half the junior class, a new girl every weekend. She has heard that he never calls them back, that he's never had a girlfriend. He came to Tree Hill with a bad attitude, amazing basketball skills and good looks and that was it. He was Tree Hill's new heartbreaker and he accepted whatever labels were given to him. Haley heard all these things but the closest she ever came to experiencing them first handedly were the first few weeks she was in town and Nathan didn't recognize her and tried to hook-up with her. Sure, he seemed like a jackass then, but he was also drunk, and it wasn't like he pushed himself on her or anything. He just seemed like the average drunk teenager at a party, nothing exceptionally horrible.

Nathan shrugged, not really wanting to answer her question. He could tell that she was just joking around, but he still didn't want to answer her. He wasn't proud of his reputation—when it came to school, or girls, and he certainly didn't want Haley hearing them.

"I guess." He finally mumbled, not wanting to be rude.

Haley smiled and began to feel bad. She didn't think that maybe Nathan didn't like this reputation. That he was a miserable kid in a bad place when he first arrived in Tree Hill and then that stuck with him throughout the years.

"Sorry. I was only fooling around." Haley apologized.

Nathan shook his head, "No, you don't have to apologize, I just… I was kind of hoping you didn't know about that. I mean, I just wish that you didn't hear all these rumors about me. Or, I guess stories, since most of them are probably true. Haley, I'm not exactly proud of what I've been doing and, and who I've been, and I don't want you to be disappointed in me."

By this time, Nathan pulled his car into a parking lot and shut off the engine. He bowed his head after his admission, not wanting to look at Haley and see her face, and know that his worries have been validated.

Haley shook her head despite the fact that Nathan wasn't looking at her. His words had her feeling like a bad friend. She never wanted Nathan to think that she ever thought anything bad of him. She admired and looked up to Nathan more than anyone else in the world and the fact that he was worried that she was judging him was upsetting.

"Nathan," she started, with tears threatening to pour out. It wasn't only the fact that he was worried about her judgment that upset her, but also that he was truly this insecure.

"Look at me," she continued, pausing until he finally met her gaze "I love you. No matter what, okay? I don't care what you do, what mistakes you've made, what you regret, how you've changed. It doesn't matter to me, Nathan, because I know, I've seen since I've come to Tree Hill, that you are still the same guy that's always been my best friend. You're the same guy that's always been there for me. Of course you're different, Nathan. God, I hope you're different. It's been six years. I promise, there is nothing that you can do that will keep me away from you. Can't you see it? It's been six years since we've seen each other, Nathan, and look—we're right here, together."

There was a silence in the car, although both teenagers were crying. It's been so long since either of them had had someone they felt so close to—someone they could open up with and be raw. Nathan hadn't been this vulnerable since he was eleven and it should have scared him, but it didn't, it just felt right.

"I love you too, Haley. I've missed you so much. I'm sorry about everything, Haley. Everything."

There was another silence as they both tried to calm themselves down. The car was full of emotion, which neither planned. Haley slid her hand to fall into Nathan's, and their fingers intertwined.

"Stop, Nathan. Stop apologizing, okay? You've got nothing to apologize for, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Nathan, I'm over it, everything. I was surprised at first, things didn't play out as I expected, but I'm over it now, and now we're at a place where I think we can be okay. I want us to be okay. I want you to be my best friend again if you'll let me." Haley explained.

Nathan smiled, one of the most genuine smiles he's had in a while. He's been wanting to hear those words from Haley since the lunch period that he realized his terrible mistake in the first place.

"I want that more than anything, Haley." Nathan answered with a smile.

They both smiled at each other and once again fell into another sort of comfortable silence, although this one was filled with true peace. Nathan and Haley were friends again. Nothing could stop them now.

"So, why did you take me to a park?" Haley asked, after some time.

After sitting in his car with him for some time, and still holding his hand, without either of them saying anything, she finally began to realize where they were and why they were together in the first place. They were supposed to have some time together, away from everyone and everything else in Tree Hill.

"Oh, yeah," Nathan started, seemingly forgetting about their departure and current situation as well, "I don't know, we always liked the park when we were little. And it's nice and quiet here. There's another park that is so much closer and a lot more walkable than this one in Tree Hill so no one really goes here. In all honesty, I don't know why it wasn't torn down and built on yet. Maybe no one even knows it's here."

Nathan then opened up his door to exit the car and Haley soon after followed his lead. He grabbed her hand once again when they met in front of his car and pulled her with him into the park.

"Still don't have the upper body strength for the monkey bars?" Nathan teased as they made their way towards said playground object.

Haley scowled and rolled her eyes defensively. Nathan and Haley had met on a playground, and did spend much of their time on the one in California. Nathan usually tried to steer clear of his house for as much time a day as he could, and Haley's was always full of the six remainder siblings. When the two of them just wanted some time for themselves they would usually find their way to the local park.

As a result of these often escapes to the park, it soon became clear to Nathan that Haley did whatever she could to avoid the monkey bars. They could never play games with the other children there that made believe the sand below was lava, since Haley refused to ever try the monkey bars that connected many parts of the playground, and Nathan never did anything without Haley by his side.

"Shut up, it's not my fault we all can't be as fit as you." Haley retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away as she watched Nathan easily make his way from bar to bar.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Nathan laughed as he jumped down and walked over to Haley.

"It's fine, Haley, you don't have to be embarrassed. We all can't be as well rounded as me." Nathan laughed.

"And hopefully we're not all as cocky as you." Haley countered.

"Seriously, Haley, I never knew you were so jealous. Here, I'll help you." Nathan said, moving toward her and grabbing her waist, lifting her up and carrying her over to the monkey bars.

"What? Nathan, no, stop." Haley tried to object, but Nathan continued.

"Stop fighting, Haley, just grab on." Nathan laughed and avoided her swinging legs so her wouldn't get hit.

He held her under the bars and waited until she finally gave up, realizing that he wouldn't stop first, and grabbed the bars above her head. She began to move from bar to bar as Nathan stayed under her, holding her legs and carrying her along the entire time.

When they made it to the end, Nathan placed her down and laughed at the scowl that was once again present on her face.

"What? See, I told you you could do it," Nathan smiled, "you just needed me."

++++++++_She Paints Me Blue++++++++_

"That wasn't funny Nathan, I did not appreciate it." Haley scolded as he pulled up to her apartment complex.

They lightly bickered about it the whole way home, once they left the park after Haley walked away from Nathan when he helped her on the monkey bars, mumbling about how boys are stupid and who needs upper body strength. Nathan laughed then, knowing how Haley was, how she hated when Nathan made it a point to show her when she was inferior. Nathan might have been a quiet kid, and loved Haley more than anything, but getting under her skin was always a classic, timeless favorite of his.

Although, soon into the car ride back to Tree Hill, the real slight annoyance that existed from Haley turned into light, playful, almost flirty (not that either would admit it) bickering.

"What? You should be thanking me, now you can say that you've successfully done something athletic. I mean, I know I missed a few years, but I know I didn't miss that achievement."

Nathan was quickly able to grab her hand and prevent it from hitting him. After only an hour with Haley today, he already fell back into the routine of defending himself from her physical abuse when she got offended. Sure, she sucked at sports, but the girl could throw a hell of a punch, even back then.

"And to think I was going to invite you into my apartment with me for dinner. I guess I'm just too weak for you to hangout with, though." Haley fake sighed and opened her door.

Nathan gasped and quickly reacted, putting his car in park, switching off the engine and running after her to the bottom of the steps. He quickly latched onto her wrist before turning her around to face him.

"Hey, you don't get to leave me that quickly. Plus, you can't joke about a home cooked meal with me, Haley, that's just not right. I haven't had a Haley dish in years and that's as far as home cooked meals as I've ever seen." Nathan pleaded.

Haley laughed as she listened to Nathan, as they made their way up the stairs to her apartment. He truly did sound desperate, and couldn't help but feel a little bad. Listening to stories of his terrible parents never stopped getting to her.

"Well, then I think you owe me an apology." Haley scolded, teasingly, pulling out her keys and jamming one into the lock on the door.

"Why? What did I do Haley? I mean, I know we've had some wild times together, but I've never been _that_ bad of a boy."

Both teenagers stopped in the tracks as they heard the third party that had been sitting a few feet away, but they originally failed to notice speak up.

Haley couldn't move out of shock, but still felt Nathan tense up behind her.

"Damien West." Haley heard Nathan whisper, before Damien laughed in response: "Scott. It's been too long."

**A/N: And I've finished. I don't even know where to begin, so instead I'm probably not going to say much. Although, I do know that I wanted to say that I'm unsure if I sent out previews for this chapter or not, since it's been that long, and I am sorry if I didn't, but at this point I'm not going to. I figure that if anyone who gets the previews still cares, the whole chapter will just be better, right? Although, I will try to send out previews next time if you review.**

**I'm sorry for errors, it's midnight and I've been working on this all day and I just really want to post it.**

**Thanks for any feedback and for reading.**

**-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown**


	12. Helena Beat

**A/N: Okay, so I'm having some amateur writing problems and I need you to please bear with me. I have no idea if any sort of days have been established, but for all intents and purposes, lets just say that Tree Hill high school has had some days off in the middle of the week for staff days, and now it is Friday. I hate to do this, but I want to include school in this chapter and they've been going to too many parties for it to all be during the school week. Thanks for working with me.**

**And I also don't want to be one of these people, but I have been searching for this one story for such a long time and it is really upsetting me that I can't find it, so I'm going to ask here, from one reader to another. Does anyone know of a Naley story where it starts out that I think Nathan and Brooke and brother and sister, and they're moving back to Tree Hill, and Nathan and Haley used to date before they moved away but broke up. In the middle of the story there is a multiple chapter flashback to their teenage years and you get to see how Naley began to date. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please tell me in a review or a PM. I would appreciate it, and I am very sorry if this bothers you, but I figured it would be less annoying of me to post it here than as a "story". Thanks so much, onto my story now. (And if this does annoy you, I hope it's not too much, because look how fast I updated! at least for me)**

**Sorry for grammatical errors, I didn't read it over, I was desperate to post it. Please forgive me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to One Tree Hill.**

_Sometimes life it takes you by the hair,_

_it pulls you down before you know it,_

_it's gone, and you're dead again,_

_I've been in places and I wont pretend,_

_That I'd make it out just to fall on my head_

_Helena Beat- Foster the People_

"Damien, what are you doing here?" Haley questioned after a moment of uncomfortable silence between the three.

The second Damien opened his mouth, Haley felt Nathan tense next to her and hadn't noticed him relax since, and she couldn't figure out why. Sure, Damien and Nathan were never best friends, but she still couldn't figure out why Nathan was reacting like he was.

"What can I say, I missed you Hales." Damien grinned in response, running his eyes all over Haley's body unabashedly.

"And Natey, too. It's been a really long time since I've seen my good friend." Damien added, standing and walking over to embrace Haley with one hand and extending the other to Nathan.

Nathan could feel the blood pumping rapidly through his body when Damien put his arm around Haley and pulled her to him. He hated Damien and was still clearly jealous of him. He was the one who was able to be Haley's friend for the past few years, and he was the one who had been able to kiss and do God knows what with her, and Nathan couldn't stand that thought.

Instead, Nathan glared at Damien as he shrugged with indifference towards Nathan's avoidance of his extended hand and instead used it to hug Haley more tightly to him.

"Damn, Haley, you feel as good as ever. A little shorter than I remember though." Damien said with a smirk that Nathan wanted nothing more than to slap off his face. He was never Damien's number one fan, but he also doesn't remember hating him this much. What the hell was going on?

Haley rolled her eyes and pulled out of Damien's embrace. She didn't know what she should do. She was really looking forward to cooking dinner for Nathan and having a nice night with just the two of them as newly reacquainted friends, but she certainly couldn't just leave Damien sitting outside by himself, especially when he came all the way from California just to see her. However, she didn't have to make any decisions when Nathan finally spoke up.

"Thanks for today, Haley. I'll see you later. You guys have fun doing… whatever."

Nathan left as quickly as possible and didn't wait for a response. He didn't know why the thought of Haley and Damien together bothered him so damn much right now, but either way he wasn't going to stay to see what was going to happen between the two of them. He couldn't do that to himself and, besides, if it's Damien that Haley wants, then she deserves to be happy.

Haley sighed as she watched Nathan's retreating figure, and rolled her eyes when she saw Damien's smirk. She watched as Damien made his way into her now opened apartment without permission and make himself at home as he made himself comfortable on her couch.

"Let's catch up." He smirked once again as Haley entered and closed the door behind her.

+++++++++++++_She Paints Me Blue++++++++++_

Lucas sighed when he saw a sad and tired looking Haley at their lunch table as he approached. He could only guess that her previous night had gone horribly, considering that Nathan had come home earlier than expected in a huff, without saying a word before making his way to his bedroom, and now Haley appeared to be equally miserable.

He turned to look at Jake who was approaching the table with him and saw that he noticed Haley's sad demeanor as well. They walked the rest of the way to the table and sat down, watching as Haley threw a fake smile on her face to greet them.

"What happened last night?" Lucas asked her bluntly.

They watched as Haley frowned, dejectedly. Though, before she was able to answer, the trio was interrupted by another presence at the table.

"Damn girl, you're just surrounded by boys all the time. Not that I don't know why." The voice started, as he sat at the table.

Haley naturally rolled her eyes. This side of Damien never really bothered her since he never truly meant any harm, at least to her, but since he's come to Tree Hill, he's been coming at all the wrong times and truly annoying her.

She gestured over to him, in an attempt to answer Lucas' question without having to speak up. She is sure they could understand.

"This is Damien, Damien, this is Lucas and Jake." Haley introduced half-heartedly.

"Oh, _Lucas. _Last I heard, I was supposed to hate you." Damien greeted.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too." Lucas replied with a scoff. Now he completely understands what happened last night.

"Damien is Nathan and mine's friend from California. He made a surprise visit to me last night." Haley explained.

"Really? I think 'friend' may be a little bit of an understatement, don't you think, Hales?" Damien questioned with a wink.

Haley ignored the questioning looks immediately sent to her by Lucas and Jake and quickly tried to change the subject, "So, what're you guys doing tonight?"

"Actually, I was going to tell you when I first came over here, before we were interrupted," Jake started, pausing to throw a look at Damien, "There's a party tonight as Vegas', and we want you to come. My parents took Jenny to see my grandparents for the weekend and his parties are usually one of the best. And I guess you can come to, Damien."

Damien scoffed before replying, "Like a party in nowhere, North Carolina can top a California party. But I guess I'll come, I mean, what else is there to do in this place?"

"What Damien means to say is 'Thanks for the invite' and I personally decline." Haley spoke up.

"Come on, Haley, it won't be any fun without you." Jake spoke up.

"Please," Haley rolled her eyes, "You'll be too caught up with stalking Peyton, Lucas with Brooke and I'll be sitting there, in the middle of the big mess, by myself. You don't need me there, you just don't want to feel bad knowing that I'll be all alone in my apartment."

Haley watched as both of her friends blushed when she mentioned them respectively. She rolled her eyes at their silence—she knew she hit the nail on the head with her statement. She began to stand when she heard the bell rang.

"I'll see you guys on Monday, have fun tonight." She stated before moving towards the building.

"Do you think you can get her to the party?" Lucas asked Damien once the three boys were alone. He wasn't completely selfish in wanting Haley at the party; he also knew that Nathan would be there tonight and hoped that they could work whatever happened last night out.

Damien shrugged, "I'll try, but I can't make any promises. You never know, you may not see me either, if she keeps me in bed all night."

Both of the other boys rolled their eyes and left to their classes as well, leaving Damien alone at the table, smirking.

+++++++++_She Paints Me Blue+++++++_

Haley couldn't wait to get into her apartment and rest. She was currently walking up to her apartment after the long day at school. Nathan was clearly avoiding her at all costs, Damien was getting on her last nerve, especially when he showed up to school for lunch without her prior knowledge, and she just couldn't wait to relax.

Although, she soon remembered that resting would be harder than she thought since Damien is currently crashing at her place. She knows that it would most likely cause further problems with Nathan, but she really hoped that he did plan on going to the party tonight; she could use the alone time.

Once Haley made it into her apartment, her face scrunched when she saw the condition that it was in. She never should have let Damien stay there by himself. She'd been gone for a total of seven hours and he had managed to wreck her living room.

"Oh, hey." Damien greeted as he left the bathroom and entered the living room in only a towel.

"Dammit, Damien, could you put some clothes on?" Haley asked, shutting her eyes and covering them with her hand for good measure.

"What?" He smirked "It's not anything you haven't seen before."

"You are intolerable." She stated, not amused by all of his comments and innuendos.

He laughed before pulling on a pair of boxers and jeans and letting her know that it was okay for her to look again. In all honesty, he felt bad. He does truly care for Haley and he now knows that his arrival has put a lot of stress on her.

"When are you leaving for the party?" She asked, as she walked around her apartment, picking up some of the mess that Damien had managed to make while she was at school.

"I don't know," He shrugged, "When will you be ready?"

"Ready for what? _Grease_ and cookie dough ice cream? Probably the second I'm alone." She retorts, making her way into the kitchen to put some dirty dishes in the sink.

"Come on, Haley, go to the party for me. It's been a while since we've gotten drunk together." Damien pleaded.

"If this is your way of trying to coerce me, you should probably think of new vantage points, because none of that sounds particularly appealing." Haley rebutted, folding her arms over her chest.

"What about for Nathan? I'm sure he'll be there, and I know I interrupted your night last night, go for your best friend." Damien suggested, knowing he'd got her by appealing to her friendship.

Haley groaned in response. She really didn't want to go to this party, but Damien did have a point. She knew the ball was in her court right now with Nathan and that she had to make the next move and clarify the relationship between her and Damien, and he definitely would be at the party tonight.

"Fine, I'll go get ready." She gave in, leaving a smiling Damien behind.

+++++++_She Paints Me Blue++++++_

Nathan rolled his eyes as Brooke came back into her room with what had to be at least the tenth outfit she'd tried on that night. He couldn't take much more of this. He'd been at her house for about forty-five minutes now while she continually tried on new clothes to wear to the party, while Peyton sat at her desk critiquing each outfit and he lay on her bed, trying not to rip his eyes out.

"Why did I agree to come here?" Nathan mumbled to himself as he rubbed his eyes. During lunch today, Brooke asked him to come over to her house after school and then they could go to Vegas' party together. He agreed, needing a distraction from his incessant thoughts on what the hell could possibly be happening between Haley and Damien, but he didn't consider what Brooke actually went through when preparing for a party and regretted his decision.

"I heard that." Brooke began, "And it's because you love me and there's nowhere else you'd rather be."

"Plus, we wanted to take to you, Nate. You seemed off today in school." Peyton added.

Nathan rolled his eyes. Now he understands why he was there. He never considered how this is the first time he'd ever been invited to Brooke's house for a pre-party meeting. It all started to make sense now.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any juicy gossip for you to spread." Nathan replied bitterly.

Peyton and Brooke shared a look and Brooke rolled her eyes. She'd been putting up with too much of his shit recently.

"God, stop being such a drama queen, we're your friends Nathan, we just want to know what's wrong." Brooke offered.

"Well what do you think it is?" Nathan replied dejectedly.

"Oh, I know it has to do with Haley, please, you're not that complex, I just wanted the details."

"Wow, it's great to know you care so much about me." Nathan spit back.

"Will both of you stop being such children?" Peyton interjected and paused before bluntly speaking up again, "Who's Damien?"

Brooke's eyebrows raised, obviously now very interested in where this conversation was going, while Nathan looked shocked at the mention of Damien.

"How do you know about him?" Nathan questioned.

Peyton shrugged as her cheeks turned a light shade of red, "Jake told me."

"Jake Jagielski?" Brooke asked.

Peyton nodded, timidly. Brooke began to look back and forth between her two friends, each with something important to share with her, before honing in on Nathan. She wasn't sure where she should start, but figured that he had been her previous priority and that he probably wasn't very interested in Peyton's boy talk.

"Who's Damien?" Brooke initiated.

"He's a kid me and Haley went to school with in California." Nathan answered with a sigh.

"And…?" Brooke asked, looking for more detail when Nathan didn't offer any more of an explanation.

"And… I don't know. He's an asshole and he's in Tree Hill right now, visiting Haley." Nathan responded.

"Okay," Brooke started, "So why are you in such a pissy mood?"

"Could you stop thinking about yourself for two seconds and just listen to me when I talk to you, I just said that he's an asshole Brooke."

Brooke fought the urge to roll her eyes, momentarily excusing her friend's ridiculous behavior, "Yeah, well you're an asshole too, Nathan, and you don't see me sitting her crying about it."

"I don't know." Nathan shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it anymore, especially not in front of Peyton. It was bad enough that Brooke knew his true feelings about Haley, he didn't need to give Peyton any insight.

"Wait a second." Brooke mumbled, looking inquisitively at Nathan. Nathan only sighed in response when he looked at Brooke and saw the expression on her face. He knew that she figured it out, and it appeared that Peyton would hear about his feelings after all.

Nathan decided to stop the wheels that he could see turning in Brooke's head and just tell her, "He and Haley are together."

He could see both of the girls' mouths drop the second his spoke up, with neither of them speaking up for quite some time out of shock.

"I didn't know Haley had a boyfriend." Peyton finally replied.

Nathan sighed, knowing he should elaborate, especially after taking a look at Brooke who appeared heartbroken. He didn't know what that girl wanted; one day she hated Haley and the next she was trying to scheme to get the two of them together.

"No. I mean, I don't know. She told me that she and him used to hook up in California, I don't know what they're doing here." Nathan explained, suddenly finding Brooke's comforter very interesting.

"Nathan," Brooke started sympathetically, "Maybe they're just friends now."

"Please," Nathan started, rolling his eyes, "Like anyone who hooked up with Haley could ever consider her to be just a friend."

Nathan looked between his two friends, who were either confused or having trouble finding something to say in response. Not wanting to hear anything else on the matter, he spoke up as he made his way to Brooke's bedroom door, "Listen, it's fine. Thanks for inviting me here, but I think I'll just meet you guys at the party instead."

+++++++++_She Paints Me Blue+++++++_

Haley reluctantly trailed behind Damien as he made his way to the entrance of the unsurprisingly large house. She really, really did not want to be at this party, but she figured she should speak to Nathan.

Even though she knew she shouldn't be, she was glad once she walked into the house and immediately lost Damien. He was a good friend and he did care for her but he was getting on her last nerve. She'd never been exposed to him in such high doses before and it was even worse since his presence was now causing problems.

She began to walk through the house, dodging all the red cups that were being pushed in her direction. Being drunk was not going to help solve anything.

Haley began to look for Nathan as she travelled further into the house, although she was having some difficulties. The house was packed with kids doing God knows what, and the other ones were trying to have a conversation with her. Ever since the rumors started flying at Tree Hill high about her and Nathan's mysterious past, she began noticing that people talked to her more than before, she figures to try and get on Nathan's good side. Nonetheless, it made her voyaging through the house much more difficult.

When she finally found Nathan, he was in the kitchen playing beer pong with who she learned to be Tim against two girls who were wearing what Haley considered a sorry excuse for clothing. She rolled her eyes when she saw his begin to stumble backward. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea right now, she wanted to talk to her Nathan, not plastered Nathan. She only had one interaction with him and that was when he didn't know who she was, and she felt that this would be a conversation best had sober.

Although, as she saw the sadness that was on Nathan's face, despite the façade he was wearing while playing, she decided tonight would be the best time to talk to him, before he became even more miserable than he needed to be for absolutely no reason.

She sat back as she watched him play, not wanting to interrupt his game. She was saddened as she looked on. He truly didn't appear happy. Sure, to the untrained eye, he looked just like every other drunk teenager in the place, only feeling numb because of the alcohol, but Haley could tell otherwise. The flirty smirks he continually sent to the girls on the other side of the table never quite reached his eyes. He looked like he was just going through the motions, and that his actions were rehearsed. He knew what he had to do, what he had to say, and how he had to act in order to fit the standards of the boy next to him, the girls across from him and the crowd surrounding him, but it wasn't being himself.

Haley was broken out of her thoughts as she felt an arm sling around her shoulders and looked up to find Damien. She fought the urge to push him off of her. She didn't want to be in his embrace, but she figured she didn't have to hurt his feelings by physically removing him from her.

"Trying to escape me, Haley Bob?" Damien joked, squeezing her tighter into his side.

She looked up at him with a teasing smile, "Do you even have to ask?"

The both laughed as she subtly removed herself from his hold on her and spoke up again, "Why are you hanging out with me? Don't you have some girl to trick into bed with you?"

"Why?" Damien asked, looking her up and down, "You offering?"

"Wow, Damien, the creepy innuendos become more and more enticing and you throw them at me." Haley replied sarcastically, shaking her head as the smirk grew on Damien's face. He sure knew how to push her buttons.

Haley watched as the girls at the beer pong table pouted and Nathan and Tim high fived, clearly having won the match. She figured now was the time to talk to Nathan, especially since it would be an excuse to get away from Damien momentarily.

"Just go find your victim for the night, I'm going to go talk to Nathan." Haley explained, walking off.

She heard him yell that he loved her too as she approached Nathan. She placed her hand on his arm in an attempt to get him to turn her way, but she regretted it as she did. The look Nathan sent her once he realized it was her that approached him was horrible. He seemed to have so much distaste for her in that moment and Haley didn't know what to do about that.

"Are you okay, Nathan?" Haley asked, concerned.

"Fine." Nathan answered quickly and shortly, shrugging her hand off his arm and turning to look away from her.

Haley's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She figured that maybe he was annoyed at her for the events of last night, but how he was acted toward her right now was outrageous. She has no idea what she could have possibly done to receive this sort of reaction.

"Nathan, can we talk?" Haley asked, firmly, letting him know that he better agree to talk to her or it was she who was going to be pissed.

"Fuck off, Haley." Nathan yelled angrily, once again shaking her hand off of his arm where it had landed for the second time.

Haley shook her head in disbelief. She has no idea who this is and what the hell happened to her Nathan, but she did not appreciate this one bit.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nathan?" Haley yelled back, equally as angrily, making sure he understood that as far as she was concerned, he had no right talking to her that way.

"I told you to leave me alone." Nathan yelled, louder than the first time. He was in no mood to talk to her right now and he didn't care if he made a scene letting her know that.

"No, you told me to 'Fuck off', actually, but I won't. You're being ridiculous; I just want to talk to you." Haley scolded.

"You sure about that? The last time I was with you for too long, your pathetic ass tried to kiss me and I don't think your fuck buddy would appreciate that." Nathan slurred, with fury clear in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Haley's eyes grew twice in size. The Nathan she knew would never have spoken to her like that under any circumstance. She cannot believe how he was acting towards her. She could not believe that he would bring up their near kiss like that and mock it. She didn't know what to do right now, she was so torn between wanting to shake the boy in front of her and just get her Nathan back, but the other side of her just wanted to slap him. There is no way that this is the boy that left her in California.

"I, I cannot believe you." Haley stuttered, shocked with tears threatening to pour out of her eyes, "Why are you such a goddamn asshole? What the hell did I do, Nathan? Why are you treating me like this?"

Nathan looked at her with nothing but fire in his eyes, "Stop being so desperate Haley and leave me alone. I'm not treating you any different than anybody else so stop your whole self-pity act and get the hell away from me."

Haley couldn't stop it any longer, the tears began to fall from her eyes. "Nathan, this isn't you." She tried one last time, desperately, her voice a lot more quiet and weak than it previously had been.

"Oh, grow up, Haley. I haven't seen you for five damn years, you don't know me and I don't know you. Stop wasting your time and go funk Damien or whatever the hell you want to do and just leave me out of it." Nathan said harshly.

Haley didn't know what else to say. She had never been so hurt and desperate in her life. Always, even when she lost touch with him for years, she always knew that Nathan would be there for her when needed, that he was the only person that she could truly count on one hundred percent, but now realizing that she was completely wrong this whole time, in front of the entire school, was something that she could not handle.

Before she could embarrass and mortify herself even further, she turned around to sprint out of the house, not being able to take it anymore.

"What the hell was that, Nathan?" Lucas asked a few minutes after the skeptical that he and Haley had put on in front of everyone.

Lucas had been in the den when the fight started but, like most other people at the party, found himself in the kitchen when they began to get loud. He missed how the fight began, but he saw most of it play out, with Nathan being the total jackass he knew first-handedly that he could be, and Haley trying very hard and then failing not to cry. It was a really horrible and shitty situation and he didn't know how to handle it, but after the fight ended and the crowd listening in died down, he approached Nathan angrily without hesitation.

Nathan practically growled before turning to face Lucas, "I'm not in a good mood, Lucas, I suggest you leave me alone."

Lucas was seething. He could not believe the attitude his brother was sporting, "You know what, Nathan? I am going to leave you alone but not because you asked, but because I can't stand to be around you right now. You're my brother and we've become… amicable, in the last few years, but Haley's my friend, and I won't let you treat anyone, especially her, the way you just did. I don't know what the hell is going on in your mind, but you better get your act together, because I know you need Haley and if I were her, I would never want to see your face again."

Lucas turned, storming away from his brother, not caring to hear a response from him. He didn't need another snarky, drunken comment from him tonight, he was angry with him enough already, and right now his priority was Haley anyway.

Nathan shook his head as Lucas ran away like a wimp. He talked a big game but he's all bark and no bite. He couldn't stand to deal with anymore tonight. As if watching Damien and Haley flirt and touch each other before wasn't bad enough, he had to hear it from both Haley and Lucas. He came to this party to get drunk and be numb, not get shit for doing nothing wrong.

He turned to leave the kitchen, needing a change of scenery after everything that had just transpired in the kitchen. He made his way through the inebriated teenagers toward the keg to get himself another drink, God knows he needs it.

He just got himself a drink from the keg when he felt someone's hand on his back. He was two seconds from cursing the person out because he wanted to be alone, until he caught a glimpse of the bright red hair on the head of the girl who was touching him. Instead of running away from the hand, he smirked and turned around to face her.

"Hey Natey, you okay? You look a little tense." She asked coyly, running her hand down his chest, stopping at his belt.

Nathan's first instinct was the cringe when she called him "Natey", but he refrained. He's standing by his game plan for the night; he just wants to be numb.

"Cut the shit, Rachel. You want to get out of here?" Nathan said, bluntly. He didn't need the foreplay or the flirting, in fact if he were honest, it was kind of repulsing him. He just wanted to forget about the night and move on. He didn't want to think about Haley and Damien, or him and Haley, or Lucas or anything.

Rachel smirked, clearly not phased in the slightest about the fact that she was being completely used. "I thought you'd never ask."

Nathan didn't say anything and hoped she would follow his lead and not talk either as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her out the front door of the house and down the block to where his house was located, ready to just get this night over with, and missing a still clearly distraught Haley that was sitting on the porch swing he passed by.

Haley had no idea what was going on. She didn't even do anything to Nathan and couldn't for the life of her figure out what she did to piss Nathan off so much. This night had gone nothing like she expected it would and wished that she had just stayed home to her movies and ice cream.

She thought she just about cried herself out until she saw Nathan come out of the house with Rachel attached to him. Then, a whole new batch of tears began to pour out of her eyes. She didn't know why it hurt her so much to see Nathan with Rachel, not that she could think much about it anyway. She was too tired and depressed and confused to try and rationalize her feelings.

"Hales?!" Haley was brought out of her thoughts as she heard Damien calling her name and rushing over to her and gathering her in his arms.

"Jesus, Haley, I've been looking all over for you. Are you alright?" Damien asked with more sincerity than she's ever seen from him.

She attempted to put a smile on her face and nod, but she didn't have the energy to pretend. She began to break down in his arms, accepting his hug and comfort.

After a few minutes of her crying on his shoulder, Damien decided that it was time to try and get her home, "Come on, Haley, lets go back to your apartment and watch _Grease_ and eat cookie dough ice cream, Okay?"

Haley let out a sad chuckle and smiled appreciatively at Damien before nodding and following him to his car, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.


	13. Out on the Town

**A/N: I've said multiple times how I am definitely going to finish this story because I promised myself that this would be the first FanFiction I ever complete. Clearly, I am losing motivation for that, seeing as how it's been more than a year since I've updated. However, I am up for the challenge if at least one person still wants it. If you somehow are still invested in this story then leave a review and I will try my hardest to update and be timelier about it. Though, if I don't receive any reviews, I will most likely discontinue this story. Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone that may be reading this. Thank you for sticking with me.**

**Also, if anyone is reading this and has read my other OTH oneshot, **_**Fahrenheit, **_**would you be interested in another follow up oneshot? I've been working on that for some time and would just like to know if I should continue and if anyone would be interested.**

_I knew there'd come a day, when all was said and done,_

_everything I was is everything but gone,_

_all my big mistakes are bouncing off your walls,_

_the bottles never break, the sun will never come,_

_so come on let me in, I will be the sun, I will wake you up, I am who I was,_

_Just open up your heart_

_Out on the Town- fun. _

Nathan couldn't remember a time he'd felt worse than he did right now in his life. And, sure, the horrible hangover had something to do with it, but he really knew it was more about the naked, red-haired girl lying next to him, and most importantly the one in an apartment five minutes away. He groaned as he tried to recollect his thoughts and felt an unfamiliar hand hit his bare back.

All he currently knows is that he slept with Rachel and that him and Haley got into a massive fight that he's sure was mostly his fault. He was never pleasant when he was angry or drunk, and especially when the two were mixed.

"Hey, big guy." Nathan hears Rachel say in what he assumed was supposed to be an appealing way, but Nathan couldn't help but to feel sickened by the voice. Out of all of the girls that he could have drunkenly slept with, why did it have to be Rachel? Forget the fact that she made it her life mission to be Haley's number one enemy, he didn't even like her all that much before Haley even came to Tree Hill. He'd always purposely avoided her at parties to make sure he never ended up in bed with her, and he couldn't be more annoyed that he failed.

"Put some ice on it, Rachel." Nathan spit out, as he quickly sat up in his bed, putting on his boxers, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and Rachel. The last thing that he wanted was for her to get the wrong idea and think that he actually had any interest at all in her.

"Wow, what's got your panties in a bunch?" Rachel asked, taking a moment to crawl up behind Nathan and slide her hands down his chest.

"Nevermind, I can think of a few things." She finished, whispering into his ear.

Nathan cringed at her attempts to seduce him again and quickly pulled away from her. The damage of last night had already been done, but he still didn't need a naked Rachel lying in his bed for a second longer as a reminder of what he'd done.

"Listen, Rachel, I'm not interested. Can you please just go home?" Nathan pleaded desperately, rubbing the front of his head.

The situation, hangover and rapid movements of pulling away from her were all making him feel sick-physically and emotionally. Rachel frowned, but complied, slipping on her clothes.

"That's not what it seemed like last night." Rachel reminded him, pulling her shirt over her head.

"Please, I don't even remember last night, I'm not interested in you Rachel, I never was and I never will be." Nathan explained, making sure he set her straight.

"Oh, please, we both know you'll be coming back for more. It'll take you forever to get back on Haley's good side, if at all, and if you do, do you really think that she's going to want you once she finds out that you slept with the enemy?" Rachel retorted.

Nathan shakes his head, knowing that Rachel is completely right and is only validating all of the fears that he thought already this morning, but denying them in front of her, not wanting to give her any satisfaction of knowing that she succeeded and really screwed up his life.

He squeezed his eyes tighter, trying desperately to remember what exactly he and Haley fought about last night, but failing. All that he remembers is one second he's playing beer pong and the next he's pissed beyond belief and leaving with Rachel. Everything else between is one huge blur.

"What did me and Haley fight about?" He asked, cautiously, not entirely sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

Rachel snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yeah right, as if I'm going to make this situation any easier for you after the way you treated me this morning. But, I will admit, it was great to experience. Oh, what the hell, I only caught bits and pieces, but I'm pretty sure I heard you telling her to 'fuck off' and that she was desperate, but don't worry, I'm sure it didn't get any worse than that."

Rachel smirked, satisfied at the look on Nathan's face, and left, making her dramatic exit.

Nathan stood motionless in the place Rachel left him. He knew they argued and that it got pretty heated, but he never could have imagined just how bad it got. He doesn't remember yelling at her like that, or what would have even made him that angry with her. All he knew was that he needed to get his ass dressed and to her apartment as fast as he could so that he can try to explain and see where he stood with her at the moment. He doesn't even know how the fight ended; did he apologize at all to her last night? He doesn't think that he'd ever been this worried or nervous in his entire life.

He quickly threw on some pants and a shirt and began to exit his room and sprint down his stairs, when he hears the doorbell ring. Rolling his eyes and sighing, not wanting any distraction or anything to delay or stop him from going to see Haley, he reluctantly opens the front door.

Before Nathan gets the chance to even see the person on the other side of the door, he's knocked to the ground, rubbing his cheek where he'd just been hit.

"What the fuck?" He yelled, looking up for the first time and being met with Damien's furious gaze.

"What the fuck?" Nathan repeats, getting up from where he was knocked down onto the floor.

He can feel his anger bubbling inside of him. He's never hated Damien so much in his life, and it's not because he just punched him in the face.

Nathan knows why Damien's here. He knows why Damien looks like shit-why he looks incredibly pissed and infuriated, and like he hasn't slept at all last night. He knows exactly why Damien is at his house this early in the morning, with so much emotion, standing right across from his, his fists clenched, fire in his eyes and breathing heavily. It's all because of Haley and Nathan is unbearably jealous. Damien doesn't deserve her. Damien shouldn't be the one protecting her, and Nathan sure as hell shouldn't be the one that Haley needs protection from.

"You going to say something West, or just punch and glare?" Nathan asked, wanting to provoke him. He wants Damien to be angry. He wants him to hit him again, so he can swing back and he can get everything that he's feeling out. He hates feeling like this, like he's shit and not good for anything. He doesn't understand why he can only seem to be hurting all of the people that he's with.

Damien laughed bitterly. Hell yeah he had something to say to Nathan. He had a lot to say to Nathan but with his current state he had no idea where or how he should start.

"You know what, Nathan? It was a mistake coming here. I have nothing to say to you, being in your presence is nothing but a waste of time." Damien finally relented, turning his back and shaking his head.

"It's fine, Damien, you don't have to run away, I forgive you. You've been jealous of me your whole life, you just finally acted out on it." Nathan yelled to Damien's retreating figure.

Damien paused, taking a moment to decide whether he should go through with this fight or just continue on back to Haley, but in the end decided to turn back. He came here for Haley and to set Nathan straight. He was right when he said that Nathan wasn't worth his time, but he had to do this for Haley.

"I know that you never liked me, Nathan. You thought I was annoying, and no good, and you were right. I'm not the best person and I'm pretty selfish, but I care about Haley. She is my best friend, the only real friend I have. That's why I was happy she came here. I mean, the selfish side of me was pissed that I couldn't be the one Haley needed and that I was going to lose her, but the part that loves her was happy for her because even though she'd been fine the last five years, there was something missing, and we all knew that was you. But now, after coming to visit, and seeing the way things are between you two, and especially the way you treated her last night, I'm pissed. This is not what I wanted, this is not what she deserves." Damien yelled, angrier than he could ever remember himself being.

"Give it a rest, Damien, what do you know about her? I'm her best friend, okay, and I know I've been screwing up a lot since she came here, but, like you said, I'm still the one that she needs. I'm her best friend, not you, so stop pretending like you know her better than me." Nathan protested, denying Damien's argument.

"Are you kidding me? You're fucking delusional, Nathan. Get your head out of your ass for once, and look at what you did. You know, there was a time I was jealous of you. You were a good kid, you were going places, you were respectable, but I can't believe this worthless shit that you turned into. You're a loser, Nathan. Haley is the best person either of us know, and I am totally aware that she deserves to be with people better than me, but if I'm not good enough for her, then there is know way in hell you are. Just stay the hell away from her, stop being so goddam selfish, because I've never seen her be so miserable in my life and the only reason she's like this right now is because of you." Damien yelled, trying really hard to keep his raged fists by his side.

Nathan was about to retaliate when he felt a hand pushing on his chest and a person making their way in between Damien and himself.

"Leave, Damien." Lucas requested sternly, although glaring at his brother.

"You don't need to ask me twice." Damien muttered, throwing one more nasty look at Nathan before he stormed off.

Lucas stood in front of Nathan, shaking his head for sometime, unsure of where to start. His brother really got himself into a mess here and it was especially hard to face the situation when he wasn't even on his side. He hated to admit it, and he did care for Nathan more than he cared for Haley and, of course, Damien, but after experiencing Nathan last night at the party and just right now with Damien, he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for him or to be on his side.

"What are you doing, man?" Lucas asked Nathan after Damien's car pulled out of their driveway. He didn't wait for a reply and walked back into his house, leaving Nathan alone at the door.

++++++++_She Paints Me Blue_++++++++

Haley needed to get out of her apartment. She had indulged her sadness enough and just wanted some fresh air and clarity.

She threw her legs off of her bed and dragged herself out of her bedroom and into the adjacent living room. She paused for a moment in confusion when she saw that Damien wasn't in the room that she left him in last night. He wouldn't have left already, would he have? And without saying goodbye? She really couldn't deal with having two horrible best friends.

Her concern was washed away when she came upon a note that was left for her on the counter in the kitchen. It was Damien's messy handwriting, telling her that he went to take care of something. She rolled her eyes, pretty certain of what, or really who, it was that he was going to go take care of.

Although, she was honestly grateful. Damien had stepped up last night after he brought her home. She felt bad all these years for not really turning to him and considering him as good of a friend as Nathan ever was to her. He went above and beyond any expectations she had for him.

Haley quickly got dressed, and pursued her desire to clear her head with a nice walk outside. She just hoped that Tree Hill was a big enough town where she wouldn't have to run into anybody she didn't want to see.

After leisurely walking for about a half an hour, Haley found herself at Jake's house. He was always good to talk to in dire situations and he always knew just what to say, or what not to say, to make her feel better. Despite everything, she was lucky for the number of true friends she had in her life.

She knocked on the door, hoping that Jake was home, and was grateful once she saw the door begin to open. However, her smile faltered slightly when she saw that Peyton was standing on the other side.

"Hey, Haley! Come in." Peyton greeted, too enthusiastically for Haley's current mood.

Haley shook her head in protest, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here, I don't want to interrupt…"

Haley was cut off by Peyton, "Interrupt us taking care of Jenny? No, really Haley, come in."

Haley smiled and reluctantly walked into the house. Sure, Peyton has always been really nice to her since she got here, and she considered her a friend, but not as good a friend as Jake. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to open up to her as well. Also, she knew that Jake supported her whenever she was fighting with Nathan, but she knew that Peyton was better friends with Nathan than Jake was. If she began to defend Nathan, Haley wasn't sure that she could handle it right now.

"Haley!" Jake said excitedly upon walking into the room and seeing Haley standing in his doorway. He didn't know the exact details of what transpired at the party last night, but he knew it was bad and he was glad to see that she at least wasn't bed ridden because of it.

Haley smiled at him in response. She took Jenny from his arms and smiled wider. Being with Jake and Jenny always had a way of making her feel safe and relaxed.

Haley took a seat with Jenny on her lap and looked up at the two other people in the room. She saw them exchanging looks and she rolled her eyes. People made things so complicated sometimes, if they wanted to know what happened then they should just come out and ask about it.

"Nathan was a jackass to me last night, okay? That's it. He told me to leave him alone, so Damien and I left and went back to my apartment." Haley explained and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal to her, which was the complete opposite of the truth for her.

Last night had been one of the worst nights of her life. She hadn't felt that miserable in a long time. She honestly did not know where all of Nathan's anger and hate came from. She didn't remember doing anything to get him that angry, and even if she had, he had absolutely no way to justify the degree to which he flipped out at her. But she wasn't about to tell Peyton or Jake any of that. She'd worked a lot of it out with Damien last night and she most definitely didn't want to put herself through that again.

"Haley, I know it's not really my place, but may I?" Peyton asked, receiving a slight, hesitant nod from Haley in response.

"Listen, I don't really know exactly what happened, but I gather that Nathan was a huge jackass last night, which honestly isn't really that surprising. The Nathan I've known for the last five years is the definition of jackass. But, I have seen him act differently since you got here. And, well, this really isn't my place, but I was talking with him and Brooke yesterday before the party and he hinted that he likes you more than a friend. I think the other guy with you got him jealous, and he was drunk, so he just flipped out." Peyton explained, growing nervous when she revealed her secret.

After Nathan left yesterday, Brooke told her that Nathan accidentally revealed his true feelings for Haley to her. She was surprised to say the least. The Nathan she knew didn't seem capable of being interested in a girl for more than five minutes; nonetheless harbor feelings for a girl that he hadn't even kissed before.

Haley let out a bitter laugh. She didn't really know Peyton and she definitely didn't want to hear her telling her lies just to try and make her feel better. She had thought for some time that maybe Nathan did have feelings for her. They had that moment at the party before he knew who she was, so he was clearly attracted to her, and they had almost kissed after he discovered who she was. But after last night, Haley knew that there was no way it was possible and that she'd just been imagining it the whole time.

"Please, Peyton, I don't need to hear that. Listen, I appreciate you letting me come in, but I just need to be alone right now." Haley said hurriedly, trying to get up and out the door before someone could stop her.

"Haley, I wasn't just saying it, I'm serious. Maybe I shouldn't have said it, but he told Brooke who told me. I think he's just confused about you. He really cares about you, and…" Peyton started before being interrupted by a teary eyed Haley.

"I'll see you guys later." Haley replied before running out the door.

She tried her hardest to keep the tears from falling when she walked outside. How could Peyton say that stuff to her? There is no way that it is true, not after last night. If you even only slightly cared about someone, then there's no way you could treat him or her the way Nathan treated Haley last night. His words were dripping with hate and spite. There was no care at all.

Haley didn't really know where she was going. The town was still relatively unfamiliar to her and she couldn't really see because her tears were clouding her vision, but she kept walking anyway.

After a few minutes of walking down the street she still hadn't cleared her mind, but the tears finally stopped. She had cried so much in the last twelve hours that she figures she dried herself clean.

Suddenly, Haley heard a car honking on the street and pulling up next to her. She didn't recognize the car and reluctantly stopped in her path, waiting for the person to roll down the window. However, instead of the highly tinted windows going down, she watched as the person parked the car at the side of the road and opened the driver's side door. Haley rolled her eyes and turned to walk again when she saw that the driver was an annoying red head that she currently hated more than anyone else she'd ever met.

"Haley, wait." Rachel requested, quickening her pace to catch up with Haley, who very hesitantly turned.

Rachel suppressed a smirk as she watched Haley turn to her with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips. She could tell that Haley had been crying and she couldn't wait to further upset the girl by letting her in on what her previous night had consisted of.

"I was just worried about you. I saw you leave the party early last night. Is everything okay?" Rachel feigned concern.

"Rachel, you know very well what happened, I am not in the mood for your games." Haley tiredly replied.

"I'm not playing any games, Haley, I'm genuinely concerned. I mean, I know that if the boy I had feelings for told me that I was desperate and then had hot sex with the hottest girl in school, I'd be really upset too."

Haley's face faltered for a moment, just enough for Rachel to catch it and smirk. Of course, Haley already knew what happened last night, but knowing that Rachel had gotten just what she wanted was an extremely unpleasant and unsettling thought for her right now.

Just as Haley was about to respond to Rachel and tell her that she didn't care what Nathan did and leave the uncomfortable situation, the main source of all her problems came running into them from around the corner.

When she looked at Nathan's face, it looked like he had seen a ghost. He was paler than she had ever seen him, especially when he noticed that Rachel was there too. He looked miserable, and Haley was happy to see that last nights events have seemed to taken its toll on him as well. He deserved to be just as miserable as she was after everything that he said and did to her last night.

"Haley…" Nathan started, but trailed off.

He was not expecting to run into her. After Damien left his house and Lucas refused to talk to him, he decided to go out for a run, hoping to blow off some steam. He needed some time to cool down and collect his thoughts so that he could try to approach Haley and apologize to her later on in the day. He has no intentions of literally running into her, especially her with Rachel, while he was out. Nathan hadn't prepared himself enough to talk to her, and Rachel being there really threw him off guard as well.

Haley looked up at him expectedly, but he just continued to stare back at her, having no idea what to say and where to begin.

Rachel stayed long enough to watch the awkward, despondent and incredibly quiet scene play out in front of her. She smirked, watching as the two supposed best friends continued to stare at each other silently, before turning back to her car and pulling away, satisfied with her work.

"I'm sorry." He muttered pathetically.

Haley scoffed silently, tears finding their way back into her eyes. Although she'd never say it, she was somewhat glad that she just ran into Nathan. She was hoping he'd apologize and, though she knew she wouldn't be able to forgive him right away, they'd be able to get on track again. But right now, it didn't look like Nathan cared too much. He was barely trying to salvage their friendship. She could tell that he looked sorry, but he didn't seem to be trying too hard. It seemed like he was truly sorry because he knew that he had hurt her, but not sorry for what he had said. He was apologetic because he knew he should be, but he wasn't putting effort into his apology. She thought after last night, he'd be desperate to even get her to talk, but the Nathan in front of her didn't even know how to deal with this situation.

For the first time since she got to Tree Hill, Haley took a look at the boy in front of her who had been her rock up until she was eleven and truly didn't recognize the man that was looking back at her. So she left and he didn't try to stop her.


End file.
